The Department of Molecular and Systems Biology (MSB) at The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth was formed in 2016 to unite faculty with diverse scientific interests and technical expertise who are answering complex questions in biology and medicine through systems level, state-of-the-art experimental and computational approaches. With strengths in cancer biology, proteomics, neuroscience, developmental biology, genomics and genetics, department labs span the breadth of cutting-edge research – from mechanisms underlying gene regulation and signaling pathways in developing organisms and circadian systems, to optogenetic control and live imaging of neural circuits, to insights into disease processes and innovative therapies to combat them.
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MSB Department News
Dr. Esteban Orellana (MSB), in collaboration with Dr. Soni Lacefield (BCB), launched The International Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (ISURE), which brings undergraduate students from partner universities in Africa and Ecuador to Dartmouth to perform research in biomedical labs for 8 weeks during the summer. Through ISURE, Dartmouth serves as a leader in the role of broadening the global network of STEM researchers. The program aims to promote exchange and collaboration between Dartmouth College and disadvantaged countries in Africa (Kenya) and Latin America (Ecuador) to promote advances in research and STEM student retention. STEM researchers in developing countries often lack opportunities for state-of-the-art research, limiting students' exposure to career options. These issues often represent a roadblock that slows down the scientific advancement of a developing country, which could be addressed by collaboration with investigators/laboratories in the United States.
The 2024 Tenney Fellowship has been awarded to Dr. Shannon Paquette, from the Kasper lab. The fellowship was created in 2002 to honor the memory of Dr. Stephen Marsh Tenney, MD. Dr. Paquette is exploring how a specific transcriptional regulator, IRF8, establishes functionally distinct macrophage subsets in the context of tissue development and hematopoietic balance. Genetic mutations of IRF8 have been identified in hematologic cancers and several autoimmune disorders, but it is unknown how perturbed macrophage heterogeneity drives these pathologies. By capitalizing on the advantages of zebrafish as a developmental model system, Dr. Paquette will address the knowledge gap between the known consequences of IRF8 loss and its unknown functions in dictating hematopoietic diversity.