2010 - UCSF School of Dentistry - University of California, San ...

project. Klein is optimistic about
success, but it will require many years
to achieve, he says.
Late Bloomer
Given his credentials and relatively
young age, it’s odd to hear Klein
describe himself as a late bloomer.
But the Bay Area native initially
shunned the career path advocated
by his father, who was trained as a
scientist. However, even though Klein
earned his degree at UC Berkeley in
Spanish, an introductory chemistry
course led to an interest in biochemistry
and eventually to a job in the
UC Berkeley lab of Daniel Koshland
Jr., PhD, a professor and luminary in
the field.
That experience, in turn, led Klein to
Yale University, where he completed a
combined MD-PhD program and then
a residency in pediatrics. He came to
UCSF for a postdoctoral fellowship
with developmental biologist Gail
Martin, PhD, and for training in medical
genetics, and before long was viewed
as a promising faculty candidate.
Today, Klein is an assistant
professor of orofacial sciences and
pediatrics, with a primary appointment
in the School of Dentistry and a
secondary appointment in the School
of Medicine. He is also a member of
the Institute for Human Genetics and
the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of
Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell
Research at UCSF.
Much of Klein’s clinical practice
as a medical geneticist is based
at the UCSF Center for Craniofacial
Anomalies, where he handles
diagnostics, risk counseling and case
management as part of a medical
team that also includes plastic
surgeons, orthodontists, pediatricians,
pediatric dentists, pediatric
neurosurgeons, dermatologists,
otolaryngologists, speech pathologists,
nurses and social workers.
Many medical students, dental
students, and doctors and dentists
Mouse embryos prepared for dissection.
training for specialties spend time at
the Center for Craniofacial Anomalies,
and Klein has an opportunity to
share ideas with many colleagues
and students. “People in the clinic
are fantastic at providing patient care,
but they may not always have the
inclination to think of ways to integrate
basic science into clinical practice,”
he says. “I think people who
do research can add value to clinical
medicine when they inject underlying
ideas about biological mechanisms
into diagnosis and therapy.”
Klein leads clinical as well as
basic research. “We are trying both
to understand tooth and craniofacial
malformations in a variety of
syndromes, and to look for the
genes responsible for isolated tooth
malformations in humans,” he says.
Many patients’ parents are more than
happy to have Klein and his research
team learn more about the conditions
affecting their young children.
“If you happen to be a physician
interested in craniofacial anomalies,
and you’re lucky enough to be at a
place that has both a great dental
school and a great medical school,
then it’s a perfect job,” he says. “I
feel really happy to be a part of the
School of Dentistry. I believe they
really understand what I am interested
in, and they have been really
supportive.” n
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