For the past 25 years, Joseph Schlessinger has 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 he and his time 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.
According to Schlessinger, his immediate research goal is to identify the various proteins and signaling pathways that are activated by receptor tyrosine kinases. His long-term goal is to obtain a detailed molecular picture, at atomic resolution, of the mechanism of receptor activation.
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