Anthony Koleske is an expert in understanding the biochemical mechanisms that regulate neuronal dendrite and synapse development. After receiving a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he performed his Ph.D. studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he elucidated key mechanisms that turn on eukaryotic gene expression. As a postdoc, also at MIT, he discovered key roles for the Abl family of kinases as essential regulators of the cytoskeleton in diverse cell types. Koleske joined the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University in 1998, where he is currently a professor and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Neuroscience.

His laboratory’s work has focused on identifying the mechanisms that control synapse and dendrite development and how they become disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders. Koleske has served widely on review panels, including terms as chair of the Basic Science Study Section for the American Heart Association and the Neurodifferentiation, Plasticity, Regeneration and Rhythmicity Study Section of the National Institutes of Health. He served as director of the combined Ph.D. programs in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Yale (2014–2019) and director of the China Scholarship Council-Yale World Scholars Program (2014–2019) and is currently the deputy dean of Basic Sciences at the Yale School of Medicine.