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May 2017 cover

Malaria parasite cell-cycle kinase CRK4 directs continuous DNA replication during schizogony. Image by Markus Ganter; cover design by Samantha Whitham.

Published Aug 02, 2017

Michael Chao

Project Manager, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

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Cycle proficiency

In the pathogenic blood stage of infection, Plasmodium falciparum cell-cycle progression is directed by the parasite-specific kinase CRK4. Without active CRK4, DNA replication is inhibited and the nuclei are deformed by spindle-like structures.

Refers to "Plasmodium falciparum CRK4 directs continuous rounds of DNA replication during schizogony" by Ganter et al.

Nature Microbiology 2: 17017 (2017)

Michael Chao

Project Manager, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

I first developed an interest in bacterial pathogenesis while at Cornell University. I then earned my PhD in Biomedical and Biological Sciences from Harvard University in Eric Rubin’s laboratory, studying cell wall remodelling in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. From 2012-2015, I continued my training as a postdoctoral fellow in Matthew Waldor’s lab at Harvard Medical School, investigating the role of DNA methylation on regulating fundamental cellular processes in Vibrio cholerae.