“We have gained new insight into diseases such as cancer and diabetes”

Awarded the 12th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine, Michael Hall discusses in this interview how the mTOR pathway acts as a central regulator of metabolism, cell growth, and environmental response. Drawing on his pioneering research on this signaling network, he explains how mTOR integrates nutrient, energy, and stress signals to coordinate vital processes, with implications for aging, cancer, and metabolic diseases. His insights underscore the importance of understanding these molecular pathways to unlock new therapeutic opportunities in medicine and global health.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine has gone in this twelfth edition to U.S. researchers Michael Hall and David Sabatini, for discovering the cellular mechanism that is “the major regulator of growth in animal cells, and plays a central role in physiology, metabolism, ageing and cancer,” in the words of the committee.