Andrea Ballabio, M.D., awarded Beth Levine, M.D. Prize in Autophagy Research from UT Southwestern

(Press-News.org) Italian medical geneticist Andrea Ballabio, M.D., an internationally recognized scientist who has devoted his career to elucidating the mechanisms underlying genetic diseases, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Beth Levine, M.D. Prize in Autophagy Research from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The $20,000 prize and lecture, established in honor of the late Dr. Levine, who was Director of UT Southwestern’s Center for Autophagy Research, is awarded biennially to exceptional scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of autophagy, a highly regulated process by which cells break down and recycle their own components, including proteins and organelles.

“Dr. Ballabio’s research has advanced our understanding of the role of lysosomes, which are organelles that serve as a waste disposal system for cells and a regulator of cell metabolism,” said Joan Conaway, Ph.D., Vice Provost and Dean of Basic Research at UT Southwestern.  “We are proud to recognize his discoveries that build, in part, upon Dr. Levine’s foundational contributions to this vitally important field of biological science.”

Andrea Ballabio, M.D. Dr. Ballabio is the founder and former director of the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) and Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Naples “Federico II.” He is also a Visiting Professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and co-founder and scientific adviser of Casma Therapeutics, where Dr. Levine was a co-founder.

The Ballabio Lab studies the lysosome and its role in the control of cell metabolism in health and disease. This organelle was known to be involved in the degradation and recycling of various biomolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and cellular debris and has traditionally been viewed as a static, nonregulated, cellular compartment. Discoveries made by Dr. Ballabio and his colleagues have challenged this view, suggesting that the lysosome is a dynamic structure that also controls cell metabolism in response to cellular needs. 

Starting in 2009, Dr. Ballabio and his colleagues published a series of studies showing that a protein called Transcription Factor EB (TFEB) is a master transcriptional regulator of both lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy. They went on to show that TFEB activity is controlled by another protein called mTORC1, a central node of metabolic regulation, and that TFEB in turn regulates mTORC1 – revealing a feedback loop between these two key regulators. These papers contributed to a major change in the view of the lysosome, from a static station devoted to the degradation and recycling of cellular waste to a dynamic signaling hub that controls cell metabolism in response to environmental cues. Deregulation of this important control mechanism of cell metabolism may lead to several pathological conditions ranging from neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

“We are now working on the development of pharmacological approaches to promote clearance of cellular waste through the modulation of TFEB activity, which may result in therapies for several conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer,”  Dr. Ballabio said. “I am truly honored to receive this prize dedicated to Beth, an amazing scientist and a wonderful colleague.”

Dr. Ballabio received his medical degree from the University of Naples “Federico II,” where he completed a residency in pediatrics. He received postdoctoral training at several institutions, including Guy’s Hospital in London, and Baylor College of Medicine. He joined the faculty at Baylor in 1989, where he was co-director of the Human Genome Center, staying until 1994 when he returned to Italy to found TIGEM, which he directed until last year.

Dr. Ballabio has published more than 400 papers and is the only scientist in Italy to have won the Advanced Investigator Award of the European Research Council three times. In addition to numerous awards and honors, including the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine in  2016, celebrating his scientific achievements, he was also a torchbearer at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.

Beth Levine, M.D. Prize in Autophagy Research UT Southwestern Medical Center established the Beth Levine, M.D. Prize in Autophagy Research in 2023 in recognition of her seminal accomplishments and career in the field. Dr. Levine, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and member of the National Academy of Sciences, passed away in June 2020. As Director of UT Southwestern’s Center for Autophagy Research, she was an internationally recognized investigator whose groundbreaking work demonstrated that autophagy plays a critical role in the determination of human health and as a driving mechanism in a broad range of human diseases. Dr. Levine is best known for discovering the first mammalian autophagy gene, which she named beclin 1.  

The Beth Levine, M.D. Prize in Autophagy Research endowment was created through generous donations from scores of researchers, including Nobel Laureates, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, and members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences – along with tremendous support from Dr. Levine’s husband, Milton Packer, M.D.; their children, Rachel and Benjamin; colleagues; former trainees; corporations; foundations; and friends. Distributions from the endowment support the annual research award and lecture, ensuring Dr. Levine’s groundbreaking discoveries will be remembered by future generations of scientists.

Dr, Conaway holds the Cecil H. Green Distinguished Chair in Cellular and Molecular Biology.

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