Frederick LaRiviere, PhD

Associate Dean of the College, Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Washington and Lee University

Former Lab: Postdoctoral Fellow, Moore Lab, Brandeis University
Training Period: 2001-2005
Prior Academic Degree Institution: University of Colorado

LaRiviere Lab

Associate Dean LaRiviere received his B.A. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Clark University, his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado, and completed postdoctoral work at Brandeis University and Colby College. He came to W&L in 2006 and has taught general chemistry, biochemistry I and II, and a spring term forensic science course. His research lab studies mechanisms of ribosome quality control and translation.

The LaRiviere group is interested in fundamental aspects of ribosome metabolism in eukaryotes. Specifically, we are investigating ribosome assembly and turnover in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One focus of the lab is to elucidate the mechanistic details of non-functional ribosomal RNA decay (NRD), a newly discovered ribosome quality control pathway in yeast. NRD detects and degrades defective rRNAs after assembly into ribosomal subunits and mature ribosomes. A second focus of the lab is to study the molecular interactions involved in the association of the large and small ribosomal subunits during ribosome biogenesis and translation. We use a combination of biochemical and molecular tools to study these biologically important, yet contrasting processes of ribosome assembly and destruction.