January 2003 - Division of Medical Sciences Bulletin - Harvard ...

The Harvard University BBS website: January Bulletin
him, spit on him, and run away from him. After these bitter
experiences, he decided to stay away from animals that bite. King
attended Carleton, a liberal arts college in Northfield, MN, where he
was a chemistry major. King enjoyed the enthusiastic teaching of
Paul Wellstone, a political science professor who taught at Carleton
prior to becoming a Senator, and was saddened by the tragedy of
Wellstone's recent death in a plane crash. Another inspirational
teacher was his mentor Jerry Mohrig, a synthetic organic chemist.
King's most memorable moment of his senior year in Mohrig's lab
was when he flooded the science library downstairs; the result of a
loose hose on the rotary evaporator he had set up to run overnight.
Medical School and beyond: Following in the footsteps of his
physician father, King attended the MD/PhD program at UCSF.
During his first year in medical school, a seminar class given by
Mike Bishop, Harold Varmus, and Bruce Alberts sparked his interest
in molecular and cancer biology. As a graduate student in Marc
Kirschner's lab, he and a postdoctoral fellow Jan Peters, identified
the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C) as a
component required for cyclin ubiquitination. After finishing graduate
school, King went back to finish his medical training. Although he
enjoyed some aspects of the clinical work, King decided to focus on
research for his career. He spent three years as a fellow at the
Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology, working with Tim Mitchison
and Stuart Schreiber, and then joined the faculty here as a member
of the Cell Biology Department.
Outside Activities: King says, "If you have young children, young
children become your hobby!" King has a four-year old and another
baby on the way. King still enjoys skiing, and his favorite place to go
is in the mountains of Whistler, British Columbia. He enjoys reading,
and especially likes presidential biographies, and reading about the
civil war. One of his favorites is April 1865, by Jay Winik. He also
likes historical fiction from Ken Follett, for example, The Pillars Of
The Earth and Jackdaws. A tip from King about the best place to
hear good local folk music is the Homegrown Coffeehouse in
Needham.
Favorite Quote: "When conflict arises, character emerges." - from
Jeff Probst, the host of "Survivor".
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