Dr. Don Cleveland

Biography

Don Cleveland is a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. His research primarily focuses on the genes and proteins involved in mitotic spindle assembly and faithful chromosome segregation prior to cell division, processes critical to cancer development. Mis-segregation of chromosomes during mitosis can result in aneuploidy, a major feature of many cancers. His work involves studying the mitotic checkpoint, a cell cycle control mechanism that blocks progression when chromosomes are unattached to the spindle. He has recently reconstructed mitotic checkpoint signaling in vitro, which furthers the understanding of how tumorigenesis occurs due to chromosome mis-segregation. Cleveland’s research also investigates the over-replication of centrosomes, which leads to errors in spindle formation and is associated with various cancers. He has identified mechanisms regulating centrosome duplication, showing that the activity of polo-like kinase 4 (Plk4) is self-limiting to prevent centrosome amplification. His clinical interests extend to areas in cancer biology and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Research Interests