Joseph Schlessinger

Joseph Schlessinger is the William H. Prusoff Professor of Pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Cancer Biology Institute. He has been a faculty member at Yale since 2001 and maintains an active research program focused on receptor tyrosine kinases and cellular signaling mechanisms.

His educational background includes a B.S. and M.S. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1968, 1969) and a Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science (1974). Professor Schlessinger is affiliated with multiple Yale research entities including the Cancer Signaling Networks Program, Diabetes Research Center, Structural Biology Program, Yale Cancer Biology Institute, and the Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences.

Professor Schlessinger's research centers on tyrosine phosphorylation mechanisms in cellular processes. His lab has made seminal contributions by determining crystal structures of growth factor ligands (SCF and FGF), receptor-ligand complexes, and protein tyrosine kinase domains. This structural work has enabled the development of specific kinase inhibitors now in clinical trials. His research spans structural biology, pharmacology, cancer signaling, and drug discovery with significant translational impact.

Analysis of his recent publications shows continued high productivity with work spanning cancer biology (particularly colorectal and cervical cancers), receptor tyrosine kinase signaling mechanisms, structural biology of growth factor receptors, and therapeutic development. His research maintains strong connections between basic structural insights and clinical applications.

• Clifford Prize for Cancer Research (2017)
• BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2014)
• AACR International Award for Cancer (2010)
• Medal of Danica Hrvatska Order, Republic of Croatia (2009)
• Elected as a foreign member of the Croatian Academy of Science (2008)

Professor Schlessinger maintains active research funding including recent $10.5 million and $12 million NIH grants. His lab collaborates extensively across Yale and with international partners. He has mentored numerous students and postdocs, with Francisco Tome, Yoshihisa Suzuki, and Sangwon Lee appearing frequently as co-authors on his publications. The Schlessinger Lab continues to be a major center for structural and mechanistic studies of receptor tyrosine kinases with implications for cancer and other diseases.