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Rachel Klevit Profile

Fields of Research

  • Molecular Basis of Disease
  • Protein Structure

Research Summary

Mechanisms of proteostasis as carried out by protein ubiquitylation and protein chaperones


Research Statement

The Klevit lab is interested in understanding how cells deal with stress and regulate cellular function at a fundamental and atomic level. As structural biochemists, we leverage an ever-expanding toolkit of structural techniques including NMR, x-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, HDXMS, XLMS and biochemical/molecular biological techniques to discover how proteins perform critical functions. We focus on two main processes: protein ubiquitylation and protein chaperones. Some of our current molecular of interest are: BRCA1/BARD1, HHARI, HSPB1, HSPB5, and tau.


Awards and Honors

A woman with short gray hair, wearing a black turtleneck and a pearl necklace, is smiling softly against a plain beige background.

Rachel Klevit

Professor of Biochemistry; Adj. Prof. of Pharmacology; Adj. Prof. of Chemistry

Affiliations

UW Graduate Programs: Biochemistry, Pharmacology, BPSD, MCB

UW/FHCRC Cancer Consortium

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Why Pharmacology?
A woman with short gray hair, wearing a black turtleneck and a pearl necklace, is smiling softly against a plain beige background.

Rachel Klevit

Professor of Biochemistry; Adj. Prof. of Pharmacology; Adj. Prof. of Chemistry

Affiliations

UW Graduate Programs: Biochemistry, Pharmacology, BPSD, MCB

UW/FHCRC Cancer Consortium

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Contact Information

Faculty

Building:
Health Sciences Building
Room:
K-466
Box:
357350
Phone:
206-543-5891

Lab

Building:
Health Sciences Building
Room:
K-464
Box:
357350
Phone:
206-543-6391
A woman with short gray hair, wearing a black turtleneck and a pearl necklace, is smiling softly against a plain beige background.

Rachel Klevit

Professor of Biochemistry; Adj. Prof. of Pharmacology; Adj. Prof. of Chemistry

Affiliations

UW Graduate Programs: Biochemistry, Pharmacology, BPSD, MCB

UW/FHCRC Cancer Consortium

Explore more on social profiles

Courses

BIOC 530

A woman with short gray hair, wearing a black turtleneck and a pearl necklace, is smiling softly against a plain beige background.

Rachel Klevit

Professor of Biochemistry; Adj. Prof. of Pharmacology; Adj. Prof. of Chemistry

Affiliations

UW Graduate Programs: Biochemistry, Pharmacology, BPSD, MCB

UW/FHCRC Cancer Consortium

Explore more on social profiles

Students/Postdocs
A woman with short gray hair, wearing a black turtleneck and a pearl necklace, is smiling softly against a plain beige background.

Rachel Klevit

Professor of Biochemistry; Adj. Prof. of Pharmacology; Adj. Prof. of Chemistry

Affiliations

UW Graduate Programs: Biochemistry, Pharmacology, BPSD, MCB

UW/FHCRC Cancer Consortium

Explore more on social profiles

Publications

Select Publications

Dove KK, Olszewski JL, Martino L, Duda DM, Wu XS, Miller DJ, Reiter KH, Rittinger K, Schulman BA, Klevit RE. Structural Studies of HHARI/UbcH7~Ub reveal a unique mechanism of E2~Ub conformational restriction by RBR RING1. STRUCTURE, 2017 Jun 6;25(6):890-900.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.str.2017.04.013 Epub 2017 May 25. PubMed PMID: 28552575. PubMed Central: PMC5462532.

Stewart MD, Zelin E, Dhall A, Walsh T, Upadhyay E, Corn JE, Chatterjee C, King MC, Klevit RE. BARD1 is necessary for ubiquitylation of nucleosomal histone H2A and for transcriptional regulation of estrogen metabolism genes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jan 24. pii: 201715467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1715467115. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29367421.

Baughman HER, Clouser AF, Klevit RE, Nath A. HspB1 and Hsc70 chaperones engage distinct tau species and have different inhibitory effects on amyloid formation. J Biol Chem. 2018 Feb 23;293(8):2687-2700. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M117.803411. PubMed PMID: 29298892.

Tuttle LM, Pacheco D, Warfield L, Luo J, Ranish J, Hahn S, Klevit RE. Gcn4-Mediator Specificity Is Mediated by a Large and Dynamic Fuzzy Protein-Protein Complex. Cell Rep. 2018 Mar 20;22(12):3251-3264. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.02.097. PubMed PMID: 29562181.

DaRosa PA, Harrison JS, Zelter A, Davis TN, Brzovic P, Kuhlman B, Klevit RE. A Bifunctional Role for the UHRF1 UBL Domain in the Control of Hemi-methylated DNA-Dependent Histone Ubiquitylation. Mol Cell. 2018 Nov 15;72(4):753-765.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.09.029. Epub 2018 Nov 1. PubMed PMID: 30392931; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6239910.

A woman with short gray hair, wearing a black turtleneck and a pearl necklace, is smiling softly against a plain beige background.

Rachel Klevit

Professor of Biochemistry; Adj. Prof. of Pharmacology; Adj. Prof. of Chemistry

Affiliations

UW Graduate Programs: Biochemistry, Pharmacology, BPSD, MCB

UW/FHCRC Cancer Consortium

Explore more on social profiles