biology

Thomas Weimbs

Thomas Weimbs is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Thomas Weimbs rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas Weimbs (born in Germany) is a German-American molecular biologist and cell biologist. He is a professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the head of the Weimbs Laboratory.

Key takeaways

Thomas Weimbs belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Thomas Weimbs to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thomas Weimbs from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Thomas Weimbs (born in Germany) is a German-American molecular biologist and cell biologist. He is a professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the head of the Weimbs Laboratory.

Career Weimbs earned his Diplom Chemiker (MS) in 1990 and his Dr. rer. nat. (Ph.D.) in 1993 from the University of Cologne, Germany, researching the structure of the myelin proteolipid protein and its mutations in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) from 1994 to 1999, studying the role of the SNARE membrane fusion machinery in polarized membrane trafficking in epithelial cells. In 1999, he became an Assistant Staff member at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. Concurrently, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University from 2004 to 2005. Weimbs transitioned to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2005 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. He attained the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in 2007 and was appointed as a full Professor in 2014. In 2020, Weimbs founded Santa Barbara Nutrients, Inc., where he acts as the President and Chief Scientific Officer.

Research Initially Weimbs studied intracellular membrane trafficking, mapping the differential localization of SNARE proteins and syntaxin isoforms in polarized epithelial cells. His research then transitioned to the underlying molecular mechanisms and potential treatments for polycystic kidney disease (PKD). His laboratory identified the abnormal activation of the mTOR and STAT signaling pathways in PKD, establishing parallels between cyst growth and normal renal injury repair processes. More recently, his research focuses on metabolic interventions to mitigate PKD progression. He demonstrated that inducing ketosis via a ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, or administration of the ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) can slow or partially reverse cyst growth in animal models. This research subsequently led to retrospective case studies and clinical trials indicating the feasibility and positive metabolic impact of ketogenic regimens for human PKD patients. Additionally, his lab discovered that microcrystal injury in kidney tubules triggers a conserved reno-protective response leading to tubule dilation that can worsen the progression of PKD, and that this can be prevented by citrate supplementation. Weimbs is the inventor on several patents on the use of the combination of BHB and citrate for the treatment or management of PKD and other kidney diseases. In addition to dietary interventions, Weimbs investigates targeted immunotherapies, such as utilizing transcytosing dimeric IgA monoclonal antibodies to directly deliver therapeutics into epithelial-enclosed kidney cysts.

Distinctions 1994: Feodor Lynen Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation 2006: Innovator Award, Cleveland Clinic

Selected works Shillingford, Jonathan M. (2006). "The mTOR pathway is regulated by polycystin-1, and its inhibition reverses renal cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (14): 5466–5471. doi:10.1073/pnas.0509694103. PMC 1459378. PMID 16567633. Torres, Jacob A. (2019). "Ketosis Ameliorates Renal Cyst Growth in Polycystic Kidney Disease". Cell Metabolism. 30 (6): 1007–1023.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2019.09.012. PMC 6904245. PMID 31631001. Weimbs, Thomas (2007). "Polycystic kidney disease and renal injury repair: common pathways, fluid flow, and the function of polycystin-1". American Journal of Physiology. Renal Physiology. 293 (5): F1423–F1432. doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00275.2007. PMID 17715262. Torres, Jacob A.; Rezaei, Mina; Broderick, Caroline; Lin, Louis; Wang, Xiaofang; Hoppe, Bernd; Cowley, Benjamin D.; Savica, Vincenzo; Torres, Vicente E.; Khan, Saeed; Holmes, Ross P.; Mrug, Michal; Weimbs, Thomas (2019-10-01). "Crystal deposition triggers tubule dilation that accelerates cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 129 (10): 4506–4522. doi:10.1172/JCI128503. ISSN 0021-9738. PMC 6763267. PMID 31361604. Cukoski, Sadrija; Lindemann, Christoph Heinrich; Arjune, Sita; Todorova, Polina; Brecht, Theresa; Kühn, Adrian; Oehm, Simon; Strubl, Sebastian; Becker, Ingrid; Kämmerer, Ulrike; Torres, Jacob Alexander; Meyer, Franziska; Schömig, Thomas; Hokamp, Nils Große; Siedek, Florian (November 2023). "Feasibility and impact of ketogenic dietary interventions in polycystic kidney disease: KETO-ADPKD—a randomized controlled trial". Cell Reports Medicine. 4 (11) 101283. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101283. ISSN 2666-3791. PMC 10694658. PMID 37935200. Low, Seng Hui; Vasanth, Shivakumar; Larson, Claire H.; Mukherjee, Sambuddho; Sharma, Nikunj; Kinter, Michael T.; Kane, Michelle E.; Obara, Tomoko; Weimbs, Thomas (January 2006). "Polycystin-1, STAT6, and P100 Function in a Pathway that Transduces Ciliary Mechanosensation and Is Activated in Polycystic Kidney Disease". Developmental Cell. 10 (1): 57–69. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2005.12.005. ISSN 1534-5807. PMID 16399078. Strubl, Sebastian (2021). "Ketogenic dietary interventions in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease—a retrospective case series study: first insights into feasibility, safety and effects". Clinical Kidney Journal. 15 (6): 1079–1092. doi:10.1093/ckj/sfab162. PMC 9155228. PMID 35664270.

References

External links Thomas Weimbs publications indexed by Google Scholar Official Web site of the Thomas Weimbs Lab

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thomas Weimbs

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thomas Weimbs claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Thomas Weimbs before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Thomas Weimbs ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Thomas Weimbs

In research: Thomas Weimbs appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Thomas Weimbs in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Thomas Weimbs is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American molecular biologists, German cell biologists, German molecular biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thomas Weimbs outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Thomas Weimbs” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Thomas Weimbs in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thomas Weimbs means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Thomas Weimbs out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thomas Weimbs in simple terms?

Why does Thomas Weimbs matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Thomas Weimbs?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Thomas Weimbs.