LabCompass

Ronald C. Wek

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Indiana University

OpenAlex ORCID
Established · publishing since 1980Rising activity
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and DiseaseRNA regulation and diseaseRNA and protein synthesis mechanismsRNA Research and SplicingToxoplasma gondii Research Studies

Publications

264

Citations

23,109

Est. group size

~1

Recurring co-author estimate

Active years

47

Publishing since 1980

Research summary
AI-generated

Ronald C. Wek studies how cells sense and respond to stress, especially the 'integrated stress response'—a system that adjusts protein production when cells face challenges like nutrient shortages, oxidative damage, or disruptions in the endoplasmic reticulum (a cellular protein-folding compartment). His work spans the molecular machinery controlling protein synthesis (including enzymes such as GCN2 and eIF2 kinases) and links these mechanisms to conditions like liver disease, cancer, insulin/metabolic disorders, and inherited developmental syndromes.

Integrated stress response and eIF2 signalingEndoplasmic reticulum stressRegulation of protein synthesis (translation)Amino acid sensing and metabolismDisease links (metabolic, cancer, genetic disorders)

Publication activity has been steady across the decade with a notable spike in 2025.

Generated by claude-opus-4-8 from public bibliographic data · Jul 9, 2026

Funding
Public award records

Current awards run through June 2028 — about 2 years of funding on record from today. Awards are often renewed, so this is what is currently public, not a forecast.

  • ActiveNIH T32DK064466through Jun 2028 · $47k awarded

    Diabetes and Obesity Training Grant

  • ActiveNIH R01AI172752through Nov 2027 · $574k awarded

    Translation initiation factors driving persistence of Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites in neurons

7 earlier awards
  • NIH R35GM136331May 2020 – Apr 2025 · $386k awarded

    Regulation and Function of Integrated Stress Response

  • NIH R21AI167662Nov 2021 – Oct 2024 · $230k awarded

    Regulation of cyst formation in the AIDS opportunistic pathogen Toxoplasma

  • NIH R01AI124723Mar 2016 – Feb 2023 · $394k awarded

    Translational control during stage conversion of Toxoplasma, an opportunistic infection of HIV/AIDS

  • NIH R01GM049164Apr 1993 – Apr 2021 · $392k awarded

    Metabolic stress responses and eIF2 kinase GCN2

  • NIH R21AI105786Aug 2013 – Jul 2016 · $229k awarded

    Inhibition of phosphatase activity as a novel treatment for chronic toxoplasmosis

  • NIH R21AI084031Jun 2009 – May 2012 · $191k awarded

    Translational control and latent Toxoplasma infection

  • NIH R01GM064350Jul 2001 – Jul 2010 · $266k awarded

    Translational Control by elF2 Kinase during ER Stress

Matched to public NIH RePORTER and NSF records by name and institution. Awards from other agencies are not shown, and a match is not always found — this list may be incomplete.

In context
Among 1,668 established Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology PIs within our index
Citations: 23,109cohort median 3,422
h-index: 69cohort median 27
Publications / year (recent): 13.4cohort median 4.8

Typically publishes in teams of ~6 · 27% small-team papers (≤3 authors) · across 28 venues

Publication cadence
Publications per year over the last 10 years — averaging 13.4/year recently
2017: 15 publications172018: 8 publications182019: 11 publications192020: 5 publications202021: 8 publications212022: 10 publications222023: 13 publications232024: 10 publications242025: 29 publications29252026: 5 publications26
Collaborators per year
Distinct co-authors at Indiana University each year — a rough indication of whether the group around this researcher has been growing or contracting. An estimate from co-authorship, not a roster: collaborators are not necessarily lab members, and recent years can be under-counted while indexing catches up.
2017: 0 collaborators at the same institution2018: 0 collaborators at the same institution2019: 0 collaborators at the same institution2020: 0 collaborators at the same institution2021: 3 collaborators at the same institution2022: 0 collaborators at the same institution2023: 2 collaborators at the same institution2024: 0 collaborators at the same institution2025: 1 collaborator at the same institution1719212325
Recent publications
Publishes in
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry×20
  • PMC×16
  • Cancer Research×12
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)×9
  • Journal of Investigative Dermatology×5
Similar researchers
By research-topic overlap
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  • Aaron P. Kellogg

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  • Bei Liu

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This profile was generated automatically from public scholarly data (OpenAlex). Group size and activity levels are estimates derived from co-authorship patterns.

Last updated Jul 27, 2026.

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