Alex Strongin

Biography

Alexander Strongin earned his Ph.D. from Moscow State University in Russia in 1972 and his D.Sci. degree from the Institute of Microbial Genetics in Moscow in 1983. From 1982 to 1988, Dr. Strongin was head of the Laboratory of Functional Enzymology at the Institute of Genetics of Microorganisms in Moscow. He served as head of the Department of Biotechnology and Laboratory of Protein Engineering, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, from 1988 to 1990. From 1990 to 1994, he was a visiting professor of biochemistry in the Division of Dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Strongin has worked in the La Jolla area since 1994, as senior staff scientist in the Biology Division at General Atomics, 1994-1995, and as senior staff scientist at the La Jolla Institute for Experimental Medicine, 1995-1999. Dr. Strongin joined Sanford Burnham Prebys on September 1, 1999.

Research Interest

Dr Strongin's research is focused on the fundamental mechanisms involving MMPs in the processes of cell migration, cell proliferation and metastasis. The far-reaching goals of this pioneering research are to gain an understanding of how MMPs by cleaving the surrounding tissue and by affecting cell surface receptors govern locomotion of malignant cells. This knowledge is critical for design of efficient pharmaceuticals that may find applications in a variety of disease conditions including cancer, arthritis and stroke.