Michael Klemba
· Associate Professor and Director of Biochemistry Study Abroad Programs: Biochemistry and Drug Discovery of MalariaVirginia Tech · Biochemistry
Active 1992–2026
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About
Michael Klemba is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech, where he also serves as the Director of Biochemistry Study Abroad Programs. His research focuses on understanding how the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum thrives in its host red blood cell. He employs biochemical and cell biological approaches to study various aspects of the parasite's biology, including the identification of the target of antimalarial compounds such as mefloquine, fatty acid uptake and lipid metabolism, endocytosis and hemoglobin catabolism, lipid utilization, protein sorting and trafficking within the parasite, and mechanisms of action of antimalarial compounds. Dr. Klemba's work aims to elucidate the metabolic pathways and molecular mechanisms that support parasite survival and proliferation, contributing to the development of new therapeutic strategies against malaria. He has been a faculty member at Virginia Tech since 2005, progressing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor, and has taught courses in biochemistry and molecular life sciences, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in research.
Research topics
- Biochemistry
- Immunology
- Biology
- Cell biology
- Pharmacology
- Chemistry
- Stereochemistry
- Combinatorial chemistry
Selected publications
Eukaryotic Cell · 2014-12-02 · 55 citations
articleOpen accessThe malaria parasite harbors a relict plastid called the apicoplast and its discovery opened a new avenue for drug discovery and development due to its unusual, nonmammalian metabolism. The apicoplast is essential during the asexual intraerythrocytic and hepatic stages of the parasite, and there is strong evidence supporting its essential metabolic role during the mosquito stages of the parasite. Supply of the isoprenoid building blocks isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate…
Molecular & Cellular Proteomics · 2016-07-18 · 51 citations
articleOpen accessAn essential step in the transmission of the malaria parasite to the Anopheles vector is the transformation of the mature gametocytes into gametes in the mosquito gut, where they egress from the erythrocytes and mate to produce a zygote, which matures into a motile ookinete. Osmiophilic bodies are electron dense secretory organelles of the female gametocytes which discharge their contents during gamete formation, suggestive of a role in gamete egress. Only one protein with no functional annotati…
Evidence for a Golgi-to-Endosome Protein Sorting Pathway in Plasmodium falciparum
PLoS ONE · 2014-02-25 · 49 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingDuring the asexual intraerythrocytic stage, the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum must traffic newly-synthesized proteins to a broad array of destinations within and beyond the parasite's plasma membrane. In this study, we have localized two well-conserved protein components of eukaryotic endosomes, the retromer complex and the small GTPase Rab7, to define a previously-undescribed endosomal compartment in P. falciparum. Retromer and Rab7 co-localized to a small number of punctate structures…
Amino Acids · 2013-12-31 · 41 citations
articleOpen accessMammalian cathepsin C is primarily responsible for the removal of N-terminal dipeptides and activation of several serine proteases in inflammatory or immune cells, while its malarial parasite ortholog dipeptidyl aminopeptidase 1 plays a crucial role in catabolizing the hemoglobin of its host erythrocyte. In this report, we describe the systematic substrate specificity analysis of three cathepsin C orthologs from Homo sapiens (human), Bos taurus (bovine) and Plasmodium falciparum (malaria parasit…
Scientific Reports · 2018-09-05 · 29 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract Plasmodium falciparum multidrug resistance constitutes a major obstacle to the global malaria elimination campaign. Specific mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT) mediate resistance to the 4-aminoquinoline drug chloroquine and impact parasite susceptibility to several partner agents used in current artemisinin-based combination therapies, including amodiaquine. By examining gene-edited parasites, we report that the ability of the wide-spread D…
Recent grants
NIH · $380k · 2017–2020
Roles of two aminopeptidases in peptide catabolism in the malaria parasite
NIH · $1.1M · 2008–2013
Frequent coauthors
- 40 shared
Daniel E. Goldberg
- 25 shared
Puran Singh Sijwali
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
- 25 shared
Kentaro Kato
Tohoku University
- 25 shared
Louis H. Miller
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- 25 shared
Julie Lehman
San Francisco General Hospital
- 25 shared
Karl B. Seydel
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
- 25 shared
Jiří Gut
San Francisco General Hospital
- 25 shared
Philip J. Rosenthal
University of California, San Francisco
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