Sandra Schmid, Ph.D.

Dr. Sandra Schmid is Chief Scientific Officer of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub.

Dr. Schmid’s research has been directed toward elucidating the molecular mechanisms and regulation of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), which controls nutrient uptake, cell signaling, and the surface expression of membrane transporters. Her highly collaborative laboratory applied cell and molecular biology, biochemistry,
biophysics, structural biology, and quantitative live cell microscopy to identify components of CME machinery and to elucidate their mechanisms of action. In
particular, she focused her attention on the large GTPase, dynamin and its dual roles in CME: as the paradigmatic catalyst of membrane fission, and as a key regulator of early stages in CME.

Dr. Schmid holds a doctorate in chemistry from Stanford University. She has published over 170 original articles and reviews. Her work has been recognized by numerous awards, including a National Institutes of Health MERIT Award, the William C. Rose Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Women in Cell Biology Senior Career Award from the American Society for Cell Biology, the Sir Bernard Katz Award from the Biophysical Society and the Arthur Kornberg and Paul Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Schmid was elected a foreign member of the European Molecular
Biology Organization in 2014, to the American Academy of Arts of Sciences in 2015 and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. Her leadership roles at the national level include co-founding editor of the journal, Traffic, editor-in-chief of MBoC, and President of the American Society for Cell Biology.