Antonina Roll-Mecak

Antonina Roll-Mecak (born in Sibiu, Romania) is a Romanian-born American molecular biophysicist. She is currently the Senior Investigator and Chief of the Unit of Cell Biology and Biophysics at the National Institutes of Health. She holds appointments at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and at the Biochemistry and Biophysics Center of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Roll-Mecak is known for her work on cytoskeletal regulation, mechanisms of microtubule severing enzymes (spastin and Katanin) and microtubule repair, and for her pioneering work in deciphering the complexities of the tubulin code. Her work is relevant to the treatment of cancer and nervous system disorders.

Early life and education Antonina Roll-Mecak was born in Romania. Growing up, her father tutored her in Newtonian physics, creating complex pulley-related problems for her to solve, and taught her the principles of programming through Fortran punch cards. During summers, she attended camps focused on math and science, and trained for academic Olympiads. She also spent summer breaks training for and competing in piano competitions, and as a child she aspired to be a concert pianist.

Roll-Mecak attended high school at the Gheorghe Lazăr National College in Sibiu, in the Transylvania region. The school specializes in science education. She received her Bachelor of Engineering summa cum laude in 1996.

Roll-Mecak received her PhD in molecular biophysics in 2002 from the Rockefeller University. In her spare time, she enjoys classical music, and has noted that while in graduate school in New York City she often attended concerts in between running her experiments. (2016) Keith R. Porter Award (2023) The Hans Neurath Award from the Protein Society (2025)

Select publications

Vemu, Annapurna; Szczesna, Ewa; Zehr, Elena A.; Spector, Jeffrey O.; Grigorieff, Nikolaus; Deaconescu, Alexandra M.; Roll-Mecak, Antonina (2018-08-24). "Severing enzymes amplify microtubule arrays through lattice GTP-tubulin incorporation". Science. 361 (6404): eaau1504. doi:10.1126/science.aau1504. ISSN 1095-9203. PMC 6510489. PMID 30139843. Zehr, Elena A.; Szyk, Agnieszka; Szczesna, Ewa; Roll-Mecak, Antonina (2020-01-06). "Katanin Grips the β-Tubulin Tail through an Electropositive Double Spiral to Sever Microtubules". Developmental Cell. 52 (1): 118–131.e6. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2019.10.010. ISSN 1878-1551. PMC 7060837. PMID 31735665.