Walter Klimecki

Biography

Dr. Klimecki received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Ohio State University in 1984, and his PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Arizona in 1994. Following his postdoctoral work, he was one of the founding members of a biotech company started within Motorola in Tempe, Ariz. He returned to the University of Arizona in 2000, where he has been a human genetics and toxicology researcher. He currently holds appointments in the College of Pharmacy, the College of Medicine and the College of Public Health, and he is a member of the Arizona Respiratory Center and the BIO5 Institute.

Research Interest

The focus of Dr. Klimecki's research program is the complicated balance between the particular DNA sequence “versions” of genes that we inherit from our ancestors, and the particular environmental exposures that we experience throughout our lives. Viewed broadly, those environmental exposures include many chemicals, some (like prescription drugs) with intentional exposures and some (like environmental toxicants) with unintended exposures. Toxicity resulting from these exposures is often a combination of the particular versions of genes that we inherit that produce our own unique biological systems, together with the underlying mechanisms by which chemicals can damage biological systems. The Klimecki research group studies this complex problem from both vantage points.