Leonard Kaczmarek

Leonard Kaczmarek, PhD, is a Professor of Pharmacology and Cellular & Molecular Physiology at Yale University's School of Medicine. His research focuses on ion channel regulation in neurons, particularly how phosphorylation and genetic mutations affect neuronal excitability and contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and epilepsy. He has discovered genes for key ion channels (e.g., Kv3.1b, Slack/Slick) and pioneered studies linking ion channel dysfunction to intellectual disability.

Education: PhD in Biophysics from University of London (1971). Research training at UCLA, Free University of Brussels, and Caltech before joining Yale in 1981.

Research Interests: Ion channels' role in neuronal function, phosphorylation-based modulation of channel activity, genetic mutations in KCNT1 (Slack) channel leading to epilepsy, and translational approaches using antisense oligonucleotides for neurodevelopmental disorders. His lab also explores interactions between ion channels (e.g., HCN and Slack) in cognitive circuits.

Collaborations: Frequent collaborators include Elizabeth Jonas, Imran Quraishi, Tamas Horvath, and Akiko Iwasaki. His work spans neuroscience, pharmacology, and molecular biology with implications for drug discovery.

Advising & Mentorship: Mentored 32 trainees who now hold faculty positions at top institutions like UCSF, Brown, and Vanderbilt. No specific grants listed in text, though research involves molecular profiling and genetic model systems.

Labs/Teams: Kaczmarek Lab focuses on ion channel biology and neurodevelopmental disorders, collaborating with the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program and Molecular Medicine tracks at Yale.