Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo is a distinguished Spanish-American scientist renowned for her pioneering contributions to cellular biology and aging research. She currently serves as Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Developmental and Molecular Biology and Medicine, and as the Robert and Renée Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Born on July 14, 1966, in Spain, she earned her MD and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Valencia before completing postdoctoral training at Tufts University in Boston. In 2001, she joined Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she established her laboratory and has since built an internationally recognized research program focused on cellular quality control mechanisms.
Dr. Cuervo is best known for her groundbreaking work on autophagy, particularly chaperone-mediated autophagy, which describes how cells recycle waste products and damaged proteins through lysosomal degradation. Her research has fundamentally advanced understanding of how dysfunction in these cellular recycling pathways contributes to aging and age-related disorders including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases. Her laboratory demonstrated that restoration of normal lysosomal function prevents the accumulation of damaged proteins with age, providing crucial evidence that these toxic products can be effectively removed. This work established a critical link between autophagy and cellular metabolism, showing how failure of autophagic pathways with age contributes to metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, with her research cited in over 200 publications.
As co-director of the Einstein Institute for Aging Research, Dr. Cuervo has significantly shaped the field through leadership roles in national scientific organizations including the NIH Scientific Council of Councils and the National Institute on Aging Scientific Council. She serves as co-editor-in-chief of Aging Cell and sits on the editorial boards of Cell Metabolism and Molecular Cell, while also founding the Women in Autophagy network to support young scientists in the field. Her exceptional contributions have been recognized with election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2019, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018, and numerous prestigious awards including the P. Benson Award in Cell Biology. Dr. Cuervo continues to lead innovative research exploring the connections between protein degradation pathways and neurodegenerative conditions, maintaining her position at the forefront of cellular aging research.
