Overview

Dr. Travis Lear earned his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health. In his graduate
studies, Dr. Lear investigated the role of protein turnover in lung diseases, particularly inflammation, under
the mentorship of Dr. Bill Chen. He then shifted his focus to the biology of aging, taking a postdoctoral
position in Dr. Toren Finkel's laboratory in the School of Medicine at Pitt, studying the regulation of nutrient
sensing and its ties to neurodegeneration. Dr. Lear holds a joint appointment in Rutgers Brain Health Institute and the NJMS Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience.

Education

D.Phil, 2020, University of Pittsburgh, School of Public Health

Relevant Publications

Lear T, Larsen M, Lin B, Cao Q, Alfaras I, Kennerdell J, Salminen L, Camarco D, Lockwood K, Ma J, Liu J, Tan J, Myerburg M, Chen Y, Croix CS, Sekine Y, Evankovich J, Finkel T, Chen B, Liu Y. Modulation of lysosomal function as a therapeutic approach for coronaviral infections. Research Square. 2021 Apr 23;. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-419305/v1. PubMed PMID: 34013250; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8132244. In Review at Science Advances

Chen Y*, Lear TB*, Evankovich JW*, Larsen MB, Lin B, Alfaras I, Kennerdell JR, Salminen L, Camarco DP, Lockwood KC, Tuncer F, Liu J, Myerburg MM, McDyer JF, Liu Y, Finkel T, Chen BB. A high-throughput screen for TMPRSS2 expression identifies FDA-approved compounds that can limit SARS-CoV-2 entry. Nature Communications. 2021 Jun 23;12(1):3907. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24156-y. PubMed PMID: 34162861; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8222394. *Co-First Author

Lear TB*, Boudreau ??N*, Lockwood KC, Chu E, Camarco DP, Cao Q, Nguyen M, Evankovich JW, Finkel T, Liu Y, Chen BB. E3 ubiquitin ligase ZBTB25 suppresses beta coronavirus infection through ubiquitination of the main viral protease MPro. J Biol Chem. 2023 Oct 25:105388. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105388. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37890782.

Lear TB, Lockwood KC, Larsen M, Tuncer F, Kennerdell JR, Morse C, Valenzi E, Tabib T, Jurczak MJ, Kass DJ, Evankovich JW, Finkel T, Lafyatis R, Liu Y, and Chen BB. Kelch-like Protein 42 is a Pro-Fibrotic Ubiquitin E3 Ligase in Systemic Sclerosis. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2020 Mar 27;295(13):4171-4180. doi: 10.1074/jbc.AC119.012066. Epub 2020 Feb 17. PMID: 32071084

Tong Y*, Lear TB*, Evankovich J*, Chen Y, Londino JD, Myerburg MM, Zhang Y, Popescu ID, McDyer JF, McVerry BJ, Lockwood KC, Jurczak MJ, Liu Y, Chen BB. The RNFT2/IL-3R?? axis regulates IL-3 signaling and innate immunity. Journal of Clinical Investigation-Insight. 2020 Feb 13;5(3). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.133652. PubMed PMID: 31990690. *Co-First Author

Lear TB, Lockwood KC, Ouyang Y, Evankovich JW, Larsen MB, Lin B, Liu Y, Chen BB. The RING-type E3 ligase RNF186 ubiquitinates Sestrin-2 and thereby controls nutrient sensing. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2019 Nov 8;294(45):16527-16534. doi: 10.1074/jbc.AC119.010671. Epub 2019 Oct 4. PubMed PMID: 31586034; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6851335.

Lear TB, McKelvey AC, Evankovich JW, Rajbhandari S, Coon TA, Dunn SR, Londino JD, McVerry BJ, Zhang Y, Valenzi E, Burton CL, Gordon R, Gingras S, Lockwood KC, Jurczak MJ, Lafyatis R, Shlomchik MJ, Liu Y, Chen BB. KIAA0317 regulates pulmonary inflammation through SOCS2 degradation. Journal of Clinical Investigation-Insight. 2019 Oct 3;4(19). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.129110. PubMed PMID: 31578312; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6795399.

The Lear Lab will explore regulation of cellular proteostasis, with a focus on the intersection of the
ubiquitin proteasome system and lysosomal biology, and how these systems affect aging, cellular
metabolism, and neurodegenerative disease. Central in this question is identifying key proteins regulating
auto-lysosomal biology, mapping the mechanisms controlling their protein stability, and seeking to
intervene in their degradation