Lori Passmore, Group Leader and Joint Head of the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, has been elected an International Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
The Academy was established to offer independent, objective advice to the United States on issues relating to science, engineering and technology. Scientists are elected by their peers as members or, in the case of non-US citizens, as international members, in recognition of their outstanding and sustained contributions to original research. Following the 2026 elections, the Academy now has 2,705 active members and 557 active international members.
Lori Passmore became a Group Leader at the LMB in 2009 and was appointed Joint Head of the Structural Studies Division in 2024. Her research group focusses on uncovering the mechanisms of large macromolecular protein complexes that drive essential biological processes, such as gene expression and DNA repair. Using a multidisciplinary approach, her team combines structural, biochemical and functional methods to study the architecture of these complexes and understand how their activities are controlled and regulated.
Specifically, Lori’s group has investigated how the protein complexes Cleavage and Polyadenylation Factor (CPF), Pan2-Pan3 and Ccr4-Not mediate the addition and removal of mRNA poly(A) tails. They have identified the proteins required for processing the end of mRNAs, a key event which can dictate localisation, translation and stability. They also study Fanconi Anaemia proteins, demonstrating how the FANCD2-FANCI proteins act as a DNA clamp, which assists in DNA repair by identifying single strand gaps.
Lori received her BSc in Biochemistry from the University of British Columbia, Canada, before moving to the UK to pursue a PhD at the Institute of Cancer Research at the University of London. She joined the LMB as a Career Development Fellow in 2004, where she worked with Venki Ramakrishnan and Richard Henderson to investigate the structures of complexes involved in the initiation of eukaryotic translation. Lori’s research has been recognised previously with the Elisa Izaurralde Award from the RNA Society, the Suffrage Science Award and election to both the Royal Society and EMBO.
Congratulations also to LMB alumnus Andrea Brand who has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Science. Andrea undertook her PhD in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division from 1981 to 1986 and is now the Frederik L. Ehrman Professor of Cell Biology and Chair, Department of Cell Biology, at the New York University Langone Medical School, New York City.
Further References
National Academy of Sciences Press Release
Lori’s group page
Andrea Brand’s page
LMB Awards & Prizes
