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

Like Be the first to like this

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.