Rachel E. Klevit

Structural biologist Rachel Klevit is Edmond H. Fischer / Washington Research Foundation Endowed Chair in Biochemistry, Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology, and Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at University of Washington. Her research has made seminal contributions to understanding the mechanism of disease in breast cancer and Parkinson’s disease. 

The Klevit lab seeks to understand how cells deal with stress and regulate cellular function at a fundamental and atomic level. The lab uses structural, biochemical, molecular biological, and biophysical techniques, with a major emphasis on NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Ongoing projects include the following systems: BRCA1/BARD1, the breast cancer susceptibility protein complex; protein ubiquitylation in general; human small heat shock proteins alpha-B crystallin (HSPB5) and HSP27 (HSPB1); and FimH, an adhesin required for infectivity in pathogenic bacteria.

Klevit earned a B.A. in Chemistry at Reed College. As the first female Rhodes Scholar from Oregon, Klevit received her D. Phil. in Chemistry at Oxford University. She spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow at Duke University before joining the faculty at the University of Washington. Klevit was an early pioneer in the application of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to the study of proteins and used the approach to determine the first structure of a zinc finger motif. Her work is distinguished by its use of a wide range of biochemical, biophysical, and structural approaches to address fundamental questions in biology. Her studies of Ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes established many of the current paradigms in the field and led to the key mechanistic insight for a novel class of Ub ligases known as RING-Between-RING E3s. Recently, work from the Klevit lab has defined a concept dubbed “quasi-order” to describe the structure, dynamics, and function of small heat shock proteins which contain substantial amounts of intrinsic disorder.

Klevit’s accomplishments have been recognized through numerous awards and election to the National Academy of Sciences. She is also a dedicated mentor and teacher of undergraduates, graduate and post-doctoral trainees, and early/mid-career faculty.