Michael Yaffe, Ph.D

Michael Yaffe is Vice President of Research and oversees the LLS grants program.  He works with LLS Research Team members to design and implement new funding programs and to monitor and assist over 250 supported research projects in the LLS grants portfolio. These activities enable transformative discoveries and drive the development of novel therapies to address the unmet medical needs of blood cancer patients.  Michael has been deeply involved in the design, implementation and oversight of biomedical research grant programs for the past 17 years, first as Associate Director of Research Activities at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and more recently at the New York Stem Cell Foundation.  Michael is a Professor Emeritus and was on the faculty for 23 years at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  His laboratory studied cell growth and subcellular structure, with particular focus on mitochondria, the cellular power plants. He also taught both undergraduates and graduate students and served for three years as Associate Dean for Education in Biological Sciences. Prior to joining UCSD, Michael carried out postdoctoral research at the Biozentrum, University of Basel in Basel, Switzerland. Michael attended the University of California, Davis and received a B.S. degree in Biochemistry. He earned the Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University.