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Biology and Biochemistry
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
154
Citations
106748
World Ranking
152
National Ranking
107

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in United States Leader Award
  • 2018 - Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for elucidating the unfolded protein response, a cellular quality-control system that detects disease-causing unfolded proteins and directs cells to take corrective measures.
  • 2018 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
  • 2017 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 2014 - Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, Lasker Foundation
  • 2012 - Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
  • 2009 - E.B. Wilson Medal, American Society for Cell Biology
  • 2009 - Canada Gairdner International Award
  • 2006 - German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Genetics/Molecular Biology and Cell Biology
  • 2004 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2002 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1989 - Fellow of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Overview

Peter Walter is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco in the United States. Their research spans primarily the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology, with a significant focus on Medicine. They have contributed extensively to subfields such as Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Infectious Diseases, and Neurology.

The main topics of Peter Walter's scientific work include:

  • Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Disease
  • RNA regulation and disease
  • RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
  • Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
  • RNA Research and Splicing
  • Cellular transport and secretion
  • Mitochondrial Function and Pathology

Peter Walter has published frequently in several venues. The top publication platforms for their work are:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • eLife
  • Science
  • Nature Communications
  • Science Advances

Notable recent papers authored by or involving Peter Walter include:

  • "The integrated stress response: From mechanism to disease," 2020, Science
  • "An ultrapotent synthetic nanobody neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 by stabilizing inactive Spike," 2020, Science
  • "Small molecule cognitive enhancer reverses age-related memory decline in mice," 2020, eLife
  • "Misfolded proteins bind and activate death receptor 5 to trigger apoptosis during unresolved endoplasmic reticulum stress," 2020, eLife
  • "Genotoxic stress triggers the activation of IRE1α-dependent RNA decay to modulate the DNA damage response," 2020, Nature Communications

Frequent collaborators in their research include Morgane Boone, Lan Wang, Avi Ashkenazi, Rosalie Lawrence, and Michael Schoof. Collaboration counts indicate ongoing partnerships with these researchers, highlighting an interconnected research network.

Peter Walter has been recognized by various distinguished institutions. Their awards include the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2018) for elucidating the unfolded protein response, membership in the National Academy of Medicine (2018), and fellowship in the National Academy of Inventors (2017). Additional honors include the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2014), Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (2012), E.B. Wilson Medal from the American Society for Cell Biology (2009), Canada Gairdner International Award (2009), and election to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2006) for Genetics/Molecular Biology and Cell Biology. Earlier recognitions include membership in the National Academy of Sciences (2004), fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2002), and fellowship of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (1989).

Best Publications

  • Signal integration in the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response

    David Ron;Peter Walter

  • The Unfolded Protein Response: From Stress Pathway to Homeostatic Regulation

    Peter Walter;David Ron

  • Functional and Genomic Analyses Reveal an Essential Coordination between the Unfolded Protein Response and ER-Associated Degradation

    Kevin J Travers;Christopher K Patil;Lisa Wodicka;David J Lockhart

  • INTRACELLULAR PROTEIN TOPOGENESIS

    Günter Blobel

  • IRE1 Signaling Affects Cell Fate During the Unfolded Protein Response

    Jonathan H. Lin;Han Li;Douglas Yasumura;Hannah R. Cohen

  • Transcriptional induction of genes encoding endoplasmic reticulum resident proteins requires a transmembrane protein kinase

    Jeffery S. Cox;Caroline E. Shamu;Peter Walter

  • An ER-Mitochondria Tethering Complex Revealed by a Synthetic Biology Screen

    Benoît Kornmann;Erin Currie;Sean R. Collins;Maya Schuldiner

  • Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake

    Kevin D. Hall;Alexis Ayuketah;Robert Brychta;Hongyi Cai

  • A novel mechanism for regulating activity of a transcription factor that controls the unfolded protein response.

    Jeffery S Cox;Peter Walter

  • Autophagy Counterbalances Endoplasmic Reticulum Expansion during the Unfolded Protein Response

    Sebastián Bernales;Kent L McDonald;Peter Walter

  • Regulated Ire1-dependent decay of messenger RNAs in mammalian cells.

    Julie Hollien;Julie Hollien;Jonathan H. Lin;Han Li;Nicole Stevens

  • The Transmembrane Kinase Ire1p Is a Site-Specific Endonuclease That Initiates mRNA Splicing in the Unfolded Protein Response

    Carmela Sidrauski;Peter Walter

  • Translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum III. Signal recognition protein (SRP) causes signal sequence-dependent and site-specific arrest of chain elongation that is released by microsomal membranes.

    Peter Walter;Gonter Blobel

  • SIGNAL SEQUENCE RECOGNITION AND PROTEIN TARGETING TO THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM MEMBRANE

    Peter Walter;Arthur E. Johnson

  • The integrated stress response: From mechanism to disease

    Mauro Costa-Mattioli;Peter Walter

  • Design concepts for the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA: An advanced facility for ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy

    M. Actis;G. Agnetta;F. Aharonian;A. Akhperjanian

  • Intracellular signaling from the endoplasmic reticulum to the nucleus: the unfolded protein response in yeast and mammals.

    Chris Patil;Peter Walter

  • Signal recognition particle contains a 7S RNA essential for protein translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum.

    Peter Walter;Günter Blobel

  • Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Disease Pathogenesis

    Jonathan H. Lin;Peter Walter;T.S. Benedict Yen

  • Oligomerization and phosphorylation of the Ire1p kinase during intracellular signaling from the endoplasmic reticulum to the nucleus.

    C E Shamu;P Walter

Frequent Co-Authors

Keith Roberts
Keith Roberts John Innes Centre
Alexander D. Johnson
Alexander D. Johnson University of California, San Francisco
Bruce Alberts
Bruce Alberts University of California, San Francisco
Martin Raff
Martin Raff University College London
Wilfried Mokwa
Wilfried Mokwa RWTH Aachen University
Robert M. Stroud
Robert M. Stroud University of California, San Francisco
Frank Müller
Frank Müller Forschungszentrum Jülich
Günter Blobel
Günter Blobel Rockefeller University
Christoph Bostedt
Christoph Bostedt Paul Scherrer Institute

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