Kristian Want -

I'm a current postdoc working jointly across the Meisel Lab and Pandelia Lab at Brandeis University, studying the biochemistry and underlying genetics of mitochondrial diseases. Particularly, I'm interested in characterizing the late-acting pathways that assemble, deliver, and regulate Fe-S clusters, alongside exploring related clinical diseases in model organisms and recombinant systems. To explore this field, I combine in vitro biochemical reconstitution with in vivo C. elegans genetics.

My previous Ph.D. research was carried out under the mentorship of Benoit D'Autreaux at the Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), with my doctorate in Biochemistry and Structural Biology being awarded by the University Paris-Saclay. This research was primarily focused on understanding the role of Frataxin (FXN) and Ferredoxin-2 (FDX2) in [2Fe-2S] cluster biosynthesis, alongside the design of novel therapeutics in the form of short peptides and small molecules to treat the rare disease Friedreich’s Ataxia (FRDA). This work is succeeded by a first author publication in Nature.

I received my BSc, MBiol in Biochemistry from the University of Leeds, with my Master's project discerning the mechanism of electron transfer to an AA10-type lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) performed under the guidance of Dr. Glyn Hemsworth. This was subsequently nominated by the university for the Royal Society of Biology Top Master’s Project Award.

Find my latest publication here: Nature (2026)