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Genetics, Development and Disease Faculty

Program Director

Ondine Cleaver, Ph.D.
Ondine Cleaver, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of cell fate specification during blood vessel development and organogenesis

Faculty

John M. Abrams, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular genetics of cell death; genomic “dark matter”; p53 tumor suppressor function; 3D genome organization

John Abrams, Ph.D.
Michalis Agathocleous, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Hematopoietic stem cell and leukemia metabolism; metabolites and the stem cell genome

Michalis Agathocleous, Ph.D.
Hume Akahori Stroud, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Epigenetics, neurological disorders, genome engineering, single-cell genomics

Hume Akahori Stroud, Ph.D.
Laura Banaszynski, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Chromatin biology, developmental gene regulation, histone variants, stem cells

Laura Banaszynski, Ph.D.
James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of cell growth proliferation control

James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D.
Ezra Burstein, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular control of inflammatory responses in the intestine, inflammation and cancer progression, regulation of NF-kB activity, COMM.D. proteins

Ezra Burstein, M.D.
Michael Buszczak, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Stem cell biology; niche signaling; chromatin; translational repression

Michael Buszczak, Ph.D.
Thomas Carroll, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms regulating kidney tubule formation and maintenance

Thomas Carroll, Ph.D.
Maria Chahrour, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); molecular mechanisms underlying ASD; the ubiquitin proteasome pathway in neurodevelopmental disorders

Maria Chahrour, Ph.D.
Elizabeth Chen, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Cell-cell fusion, actin cytosleletal dynamics, mechanobiology, muscle development and regeneration

Elizabeth Chen, Ph.D.
Haiqi Chen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Spatial and functional genomics and epigenomics, single-cell genomics and epigenomics, computational genomics, high resolution imaging, mammalian spermatogenesis, human fertility and reproduction

Haiqi Chen, Ph.D.
Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: NF-B signaling and the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway

Zhijian James Chen, Ph.D.
Seungwon Choi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Somatosensation, pain and touch pathways, mouse genetics, in vitro and in vivo physiology, optogenetics

Seungwon Choi, Ph.D.
James Collins, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Schistosomes are parasitic flatworms that cause significant disease and disability in more than 200 million of the world’s poorest people. Using a variety of functional genomic approaches, we seek to understand fundamental aspects of schistosome biology, including the biology of somatic and reproductive stem cells.

James Collins, Ph.D.
Ralph J. DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Regulation of metabolism during cell growth and tumorigenesis; integrating signal transduction with metabolic flux; understanding pediatric metabolic diseases

Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D.
Michael Dellinger, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Calcium channels and calcium signalling in the nervous system;he development of the lymphatic vasculature and human diseases caused by errors in the development of the lymphatic vasculature

Michael Dellinger, Ph.D.
Peter Douglas, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Molecular genetics of aging and stress response in blunt trauma, degenerative disease and cancer

Peter Douglas, Ph.D.
Rene L. Galindo, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of pediatric sarcoma tumorigenesis and developmental skeletal muscle patterning

Rene Galindo, M.D., Ph.D.
Janko Gospocic, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Epigenetics, chromatin biology, gene regulation, social behavior, aging, neurodegeneration

Janko Gospocic, Ph.D.
Steven Gray, Ph.D.

Assocoate Professor

Research Interests: AAV, gene therapy, neurodevelopmental disease, neurodegenerative disease, genetic disease, translational research

Steven Gray, Ph.D.
Edward Grow, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Epigenomics, chromatin, SCNT, embryonic genome activation, preimplantation development, embryonic stem cells, pluripotency, transposons, endogenous retroviruses, ovarian follicle development, oogenesis, single-cell techniques

Edward Grow, Ph.D.
Dustin Hancks, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Host-pathogen interactions, genetic conflicts, positive selection​, genome evolution, innate immunity, evolutionary immunology, horizontal gene transfer, poxviruses, mutation, genetic disease, genomics

Dustin Hancks, Ph.D.
Helen H. Hobbs, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Identification of genetic factors contributing to inter-individual differences in the concentration of lipoproteins in the blood

Helen Hobbs, M.D.
Gary Hon, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Developing (epi)genomic/bioinformatic tools to assess and predict the functions of regulatory elements, epigenetic biomarkers of disease state, epigenetics in development and disease, global regulation of mammalian gene expression, non-coding genome function

Gary Hon, Ph.D.
Kosuke Izumi, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Chromosome, genomics, epigenetics, pediatrics

Kosuke Isumi, M.D., Ph.D.
Jenna Jewell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Cancer biology, CRISPR genome editing, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), nutrient sensing, signal transduction

Jenna Jewell, Ph.D.
Jin Jiang, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Signal-transduction pathways in development and human disease; genetic control of organ growth and patterning; tumor suppressor genes

Jin Jiang, Ph.D.
Jane E. Johnson, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Development of the mammalian nervous system; transcriptional regulation of neural cell-type specification

Jane Johnson, Ph.D.
Courtney Karner, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Amino acids, glutamine, proline, osteoblast, osteoclast, bone, WNT, metabolism

Courtney Karner, Ph.D.
Helmut Kramer, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular genetics endosomal trafficking in Drosophila

Helmut Kramer, Ph.D.
W. Lee Kraus, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Cellular signaling, gene regulation, and epigenetic control in the chromatin environment of the nucleus; biological systems include: reproduction, cancer, inflammation, adipogenesis, stem cells, differentiation

W. Lee Kraus, Ph.D.
Benjamin Levi, M.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Cell fate, wound healing, muscle fibrosis, heterotopic ossification, injury response

Benjamin Levi, M.D.
Yi Liu, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Synonymous codons as new genetic codes to regulate protein structure and gene expression, mechanism of circadian clocks, small and long coding RNAs

Yi Liu, Ph.D.
Zhi-Ping Liu, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Elucidate transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of genes involved in cardiovascular diseases and characterize the signaling pathways coupling these transcriptional programs to extracellular signals that trigger this disease

Zhi-Ping Liu, Ph.D.
Peter Ly, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Mechanisms of genomic instability and chromosomal alterations in cancer

Peter Ly, Ph.D.
Shang Ma, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests:Mechanobiology, ion channels, immune cells, human genetics, disease, cell communication

Shang Ma, Ph.D.
Ravikanth Maddipati, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Tumor metastasis, tumor heterogeneity, therapy resistance, circulation tumor cells, and cellular plasticity

Ravikanth Maddipati, M.D.
Ram Mani, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Epigenetic mechanisms underlying cancer progression; ETS gene fusions in prostate cancer; genomic rearrangements in cancer; transcriptional regulation in prostate cancer

Ram Mani, Ph.D.
Denise Marciano, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Regulation of cell-cell adhesion during tubule and glomerular formation and in polycystic kidney disease

Denise Marciano, M.D., Ph.D.
Samuel McBrayer, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Nitrogen metabolism, crosstalk between the metabolome and epigenome, metabolic mechanisms of tumor initiation, synthetic lethality, glioma biology, CRISPR/Cas9-based mouse models of cancer

Samuel McBrayer, Ph.D.
David McFadden, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Genetically engineered mouse models of cancer, chemical and genetic screens for new vulnerabilities in small cell lung cancer and Ewing sarcoma

David McFadden, M.D., Ph.D.
Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Regulation and function of mammalian miRNAs and other noncoding RNAs in normal physiology and disease

Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D.
Berge Minassian, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Understanding the molecular basis of glycogen malformation in the fatal Lafora epilepsy and devising gene and small-molecule based therapies for this and other childhood neurogenetic disorders.

Berge Minassian, M.D.
Chieko Mineo, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular basis of pathogenesis of antiphospholipid syndrome; role of Pentraxin C Reactive protein in metabolic syndrome; biology of lipoproteins and their receptors

Chieko Mineo, Ph.D.
V. Vinod Mootha, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Genetic disorders of the cornea and eye; Age-related degenerative trinucleotide repeat disease of the cornea

V. Vinod Mootha, M.D.
Sean Morrison, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Cancer stem cell biology; melanoma cell proliferation and metastasis; stem cell aging; stem cell self-renewal

Sean Morrison, Ph.D.
Ping Mu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanism of therapy resistance in prostate cancer, combined therapy development, novel biomarker identification, non-coding RNAs’ function in prostate cancer

Ping Mu, Ph.D.
Saikat Mukhopadhyay, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Role of the primary cilia in normal development and cancer; functional proteomics in ciliary diseases; ciliary signaling pathways

Saikat Mukhopadhyay, M.D., Ph.D.
Nikhil Munshi, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Transcriptional mechanisms that orchestrate formation and function of the cardiac conduction system

Nikhil Munshi, M.D., Ph.D.
Kathryn O’Donnell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Mechanisms of tumorigenesis; Regulation and function of cell surface receptors in lung cancer pathogenesis

Kathryn O'Donnell, Ph.D.
Benjamin Ohlstein, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Stem cells, intestine, developmental biology, gastrointestinal physiology, gastrointestinal cancer

Benjamin Ohlstein, M.D., Ph.D.
Eric N. Olson, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Transcriptional control of cell differentiation; muscle development

Eric Olson, Ph.D.
Duojia Pan, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Size-control mechanisms in development, regeneration, and cancer

Duojia Pan, Ph.D.
Benjamin Sabari, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Gene regulation, nuclear organization by biomolecular condensates, phase separation, gene activation in development and cancer

Benjamin Sabari, Ph.D.
Hesham Sadek, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Metabolic profiling of stem cells

Hesham Sadek, M.D., Ph.D.
David Sanders, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Biomolecular condensates, Phase separation, Protein aggregation, RNA homeostasis, Stress granules, Nuclear speckles, Molecular networks, Disordered proteins, Neuromuscular disease, ALS

David Sanders, Ph.D.
Philip W. Shaul, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Endothelial cell biology, vascular development and disease; signaling molecules in endothelial cell caveolae/lipid rafts

Philip Shaul, M.D.
Matthew Sieber, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Cellular metabolism, mitochondria, reproduction, cellular quiescence

Matthew Sieber, Ph.D.
Stephen Skapek, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Tumor suppressor gene function; angiogenesis; skeletal muscle differentiation; oncogene-induced senescence

Stephen Skapek, M.D.
Ashley Solmonson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Metabolism, Cell Fate, Development, Placenta, Pregnancy

Ashley Solmonson, Ph.D.
Douglas Strand, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Benign and malignant urologic diseases, computational and translational biology, cellular anatomy, single cell technology

Douglas Strand, Ph.D.
Lu Sun, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Neuron-glia interaction, oligodendrocyte, myelination, neurological disorders

Lu Sun, Ph.D.
Vincent Tagliabracci, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Kinases in the secretory pathway and the extracellular space; secreted protein and peptide hormone phosphorylation; CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing

Vincent Tagliabracci, Ph.D.
Dan Tong, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Atrial fibrillation, heart failure, metainflammation

Dan Tong, M.D., Ph.D.
Robert Tower, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Bone, omics, spatial transcritpomics, osteoimmunology, digit regeneration, fracture repair, heterotopic ossification, musculoskeletal biology

Robert Tower, Ph.D.
Yingfei Wang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Mitochondrial dysfunction, neurodegeneration and cell death in neurological diseases and human cancers; PARP-1 signaling; DNA damage/genome instability

Yingfei Wang, Ph.D.
Benjamin Weaver, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Proteolytic mechanisms in cell fate, signaling and gene expression. Roles of caspases, E3 ubiquitin ligases and MAPK signaling in development and stress responses.

Benjamin Weaver, Ph.D.
Katherine Wert, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Inherited retinal degenerations, stem cell biology, gene editing, gene therapy, mouse models of ocular disease, metabolism and metabolic reprogramming, photoreceptor cells, genetic mechanisms of disease

Katherine Wert, Ph.D.
Tom Wilkie, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: G-protein signaling during mouse development, energy homeostasis, and feeding behavior

Tom Wilkie, Ph.D.
Carol Wise, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Genetics of pediatric musculoskeletal and autoinflammatory diseases

Carol Wise, Ph.D.
Jiang Wu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Chromatin regulation of neural development; neural stem cell differentiation; activity dependent gene expression

Jiang Wu, Ph.D.
Jun Wu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Stem cells and pluripotency, genome and epigenome editing, interspecies chimera and organogenesis, species preservation

Jun Wu, Ph.D.
Sihan Wu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Extrachromosomal DNA in cancer; Cancer genomics; Cancer epigenetics

Sihan Wu, Ph.D.
Chao Xing, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Statistical genetics, genetic epidemiology, bioinformatics, gene mapping for complex traits

Chao Xing, Ph.D.
Chun-Li Zhang, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Nuclear receptor signaling and adult neural stem cells

Chun-Li Zhang, Ph.D.
Qing Zhang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Regulation and function of oxygen sensing pathway in diseases including cancer; post-translational modifications of proteins; tumor suppressor signaling and synthetic lethality

Qing Zhang, Ph.D.
Zhao Zhang, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of major metabolic diseases including obesity, diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Zhao Zhang, Ph.D.
Jian Zhou, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Computational Biology; Systems biology and functional Genomics; Machine learning and statistics for biomedical science; Genomic sequence-based regulation

Jian Zhou, Ph.D.
Hao Zhu, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Genetic and cellular mechanisms of organ regeneration and dysregulation of these mechanisms in liver cancer

Hao Zhu, M.D.
Jeffrey Zigman, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Gut-brain axis hormones and neuronal circuits underlying obesity, diabetes, hypoglycemia, cancer cachexia, ALS, and learning/memory

Jeffrey Zigman, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Members

These faculty members do not accept graduate students. They participate in teaching, co-mentoring, exam and dissertation committees, and all other program responsibilities.

Rhonda Bassel-Duby, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Genetic mechanisms of muscle development, growth, disease, and regeneration

Rhonda Bassel-Duby, Ph.D.
Amanda Casey, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Endoplasmic, reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response

Amanda Casey, Ph.D.
Bret Evers, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Pathology; comparative histopathology; neuropathology; developmental biology; ophthalmic pathology

Bret Evers, M.D., Ph.D.
Robert E. Hammer, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Transforming growth factor beta signaling

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Ning Liu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Role of progenitor cells in skeletal muscle function during homeostasis and aging

Ning Liu, Ph.D.
Vanessa Nomellini, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Innate immunity, inflammation, immune checkpoints, chronic critical illness, and personalized immune therapies

Vanessa Nomellini, M.D., Ph.D.
Stuart Ravnik, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Molecular control of germ-cell development and meiosis

Stuart Ravnik, Ph.D.
Dwight Towler, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Wnt signaling; cardiovascular calcification; transgenic preclinical disease models; protein arginine methylation; transcriptional regulation; fibrosis; vascular smooth muscle phenotypic modulation; osteogenic differentiation.

Dwight Towler, M.D., Ph.D.
Yuanyuan (Faith) Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Radiobiology, immuno-metabolism, lung cancer

Yuanyuan (Faith) Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Andrew R. Zinn, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Genetic disorders of human growth and reproduction; Turner syndrome; infertility; obesity

Andrew Zinn, M.D., Ph.D.