What factors or circumstances led you to
your work?
For the past 25 years, I have been interested
in the molecular mechanisms that control cell proliferation and
differentiation. In particular, the mechanism of activation of
cell surface receptors with protein tyrosine kinase activity.
During the last two decades we have analyzed their mode of action, and
obtained a clear view about the process of receptor activation as well
as the intracellular signaling pathways that these receptors activate.
What are your immediate and long-term
research goals?
My immediate research goal is to identify the
various proteins and signaling pathways that are activated by receptor
tyrosine kinases. My long-term goal is to obtain a detailed
molecular picture, at atomic resolution, of the mechanism of receptor
activation.
What are the social implications of your
work, if any?
Many diseases are caused by mutations or
dysfunction in the action of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK).
Specific inhibitors for RTKs have been developed and are currently
tested in clinical trials for a variety of cancers.
What tools or technological advances
have been important in your research, if any?
The tools applied in my laboratory are modern
methods of molecular biology and biochemistry. We are also using
X-ray crystallography for determination of protein structure, and gene
knockout technology for determining the biological roles of proteins
of interest.
Did you expect your work to become
highly cited, or is this surprising to you?
As the field of signal transduction is
relevant for nearly every discipline of science and medicine, I am not
surprised that my work is so highly cited.
Dr. Joseph Schlessinger
New York University School of Medicine
Department of Pharmacology
New York, NY, USA
cites
:
r.
Joseph Schlessinger discusses his work, which centers on
molecular mechanisms controlling the cell cycle. He has
contributed to eleven papers which have been cited a total of
6,357 times, placing him among the top 30 most-cited
researchers of the 1990s.
