Michael N. Hall

Michael Nip Hall is an American and Swiss molecular biologist and Professor at the Biozentrum University of Basel, Switzerland.

Hall grew up in South America (Venezuela, Peru). He earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976, and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Harvard University in 1981. Hall was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and at the University of California, San Francisco. He was appointed an Assistant Professor at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel in 1987, and became a Full Professor in 1992. From 1995 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2009 he was head of the Division of Biochemistry, and from 2002 until 2009 was Deputy Director of the Biozentrum.

Hall is a pioneer in the fields of TOR signaling and cell growth control. In 1991, Michael N. Hall discovered a protein, which regulates cell growth, cell size and cell division in yeast cells. Since the function of this protein is inhibited by the substance rapamycin, Hall gave the growth regulator the name «Target of Rapamycin» or for short «TOR». Later, Hall was able to demonstrate the same control mechanism in mammals. TOR is a conserved protein kinase activated by growth factors, nutrients, and insulin. It is a central controller of cell growth and metabolism. TOR plays a key role in aging and the development of diseases such as cancer, obesity, Diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease. Insights into TOR signaling pathways have been applied for new therapeutic strategies.

• 1995 Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
• 2003 Cloëtta Prize for Biomedical Research
• 2009 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• 2009 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine
• 2012 Marcel Benoist Prize for Humanities or Science
• 2013 Member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences
• 2014 Sir Hans Krebs Medal, Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS)
• 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
• 2014 Synergy Grant, European Research Council (ERC)
• 2014 Member of the National Academy of Sciences USA
• 2015 Canada Gairdner International Award