Dr. Michal Zolkiewski

Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics
michalz@k-state.edu
Website

“Abrupt metabolic shifts that occur in cells during oncogenic transformation and dramatic changes of their environment inside a developing tumor expose the cells to conditions of severe stress. To survive and grow, cancer cells must activate and maintain robust stress responses, including the induction of heat-shock proteins and other protein quality-control pathways. A therapeutic attack directed towards the stress-response machinery might specifically target tumor cells, inhibit their survival, and promote cell death in tumor sites. Our research is focused on understanding the protein components of the stress-response and quality-control pathways, their structure, and the mechanism of their function.”