鶹ýɫƬ

Award

Toker recognized for ‘seminal contributions’ to lipid biology

He’s won the 2022 ASBMB Avanti Award in Lipids
Courtney Chandler
Dec. 7, 2021

always has been interested in science, and he recalls many days spent at the Natural History Museum in London, where he grew up. Yet it wasn’t until his postdoctoral years spent under the mentorship of that he decided to make research his career.

Toker-445x473.jpg
Alex Toker

“I just had kind of an epiphany and decided this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Toker said. “I loved basic science and discovering things.”

In 1988, Cantley won the 鶹ýɫƬ and 鶹ýɫƬ Biology’s Avanti Award in Lipids. Toker, now a professor at Harvard Medical School and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, will receive the same award in 2022. Toker is being recognized for his work on lipid signaling and particularly his studies on phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase, or PI3K, and serine/threonine kinase AKT signaling in cancer.

, a distinguished professor and chair in chemistry at Texas A&M University and winner of the 2019 Avanti Award, wrote in his nomination letter that Toker deserved the award for his “seminal contributions to the lipid field” and “steadfast professionalism.” Toker received word about the award while on vacation in New Hampshire.

“I was just so proud and ecstatic and filled with a sense of achievement and recognition by my peers,” Toker said. “It really is a culmination of 20-plus years of running a laboratory, and, considering the past recipients, it is truly humbling.”

The discovery aspect of research still drives him, and he enjoys the independence and creativity scientific research can bring. He is also passionate about mentoring.

“The greatest source of joy and pride and the most satisfying aspect of my career is really the training of the scientists and students that I’ve had in my laboratory,” he said.

Toker credits his family, trainees, mentors and colleagues with helping get to where he is today.

Pathways past and future

Alex Toker’s research focuses on understanding how intracellular signaling pathways affect cancer cell behavior. During his postdoc work, he identified that a protein kinase called Akt, also known as protein kinase B, or PKB, was activated by lipid products of the PI3K pathway, thus linking the two signaling pathways.

The two pathways, together with the mammalian target of rapamycin, or mTOR, pathway, collectively control cellular metabolism, proliferation and growth, and survival. All are dysregulated in certain types of cancer.

In his award talk, Toker plans to start at his seminal discovery linking lipid mediators with specific signaling and move through his subsequent work characterizing Akt and other pathways in the cell and in cancer. He also will focus on where he thinks the field is going and ongoing studies in his lab aimed at designing therapeutic interventions targeting the pathway.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Courtney Chandler

Courtney Chandler is a biochemist and microbiologist in Baltimore, Md., and a careers columnist for ASBMB Today.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in People

People highlights or most popular articles

Meet the 2025 SOC grant awardees
Outreach

Meet the 2025 SOC grant awardees

Aug. 15, 2025

Five science outreach and communication projects received up to $1,000 from ASBMB to promote the understanding of molecular life science.

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins
Profile

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins

Aug. 13, 2025

MOSAIC scholar Katie Dunleavy investigates how Aurora kinase A shields oncogene c-MYC from degradation, using cutting-edge techniques to uncover new strategies targeting “undruggable” molecules.

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond
Profile

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond

Aug. 12, 2025

Ileana Cristea, an ASBMB Breakthroughs webinar speaker, presented her research on how viruses reprogram cell structure and metabolism to enhance infection and how these mechanisms might link viral infections to cancer and other diseases.

Understanding the lipid link to gene expression in the nucleus
Profile

Understanding the lipid link to gene expression in the nucleus

Aug. 11, 2025

Ray Blind, an ASBMB Breakthroughs speaker, presented his research on how lipids and sugars in the cell nucleus are involved in signaling and gene expression and how these pathways could be targeted to identify therapeutics for diseases like cancer.

In memoriam: William S. Sly
In Memoriam

In memoriam: William S. Sly

Aug. 11, 2025

He served on the 鶹ýɫƬ and 鶹ýɫƬ Biology Council in 2005 and 2006 and was an ASBMB member for 35 years.

ASBMB committees welcome new members
Society News

ASBMB committees welcome new members

Aug. 7, 2025

Members joined these committees: Education and Professional Development, Maximizing Access, Meetings, 鶹ýɫƬ, Public Affairs Advisory, Science Outreach and Communication, Student Chapters and Women in Biochemistry and 鶹ýɫƬ Biology.