Distinguished Speaker Series | Maxence Nachury, PhD

Dr. Maxence Nachury, PhD is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco, where he leads the Nachury Lab focused on the molecular mechanisms that control trafficking into and out of the primary cilium and how these processes regulate signaling. His research centers on understanding ciliopathies such as Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS), a disorder caused by defects in the BBSome complex responsible for mediating receptor exit from cilia. The Nachury Lab combines biochemistry, structural biology, and cell biology to uncover how the BBSome recognizes, transports, and regulates signaling receptors. Another major focus explores how ciliary receptors that fail to exit by conventional routes are released through cilia-derived extracellular vesicles, revealing new pathways for intercellular communication. Dr. Nachury earned his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral research in cell biology and trafficking at Stanford and Genentech. Supported by multiple NIH grants, his work has provided key insights into the structural basis and functional dynamics of ciliary trafficking, advancing understanding of how defects in these systems lead to human disease. He has published extensively in the field of cilia biology and is recognized for bridging fundamental mechanisms with translational relevance to vision and developmental disorders.