Michael W. Klymkowsky, Ph.D.

Research

Over the past few decades, my interests have evolved from membrane-enveloped bacterial viruses, through acetylcholine receptor structure and synaptic assembly, to the organization and function of the cytoskeleton, specifically intermediate filaments and the role of adhesion proteins in the regulation of gene expression. My current fascination involves the molecular circuitry underlying early embryonic patterning in vertebrates: its evolution and relevance to human birth defects and the related process of tumor metastasis.