Marnie E. Halpern, PhD
Andrew Thomson, Jr., MD 1946 Professor
Chair and Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Program Affiliations: MCB and IND
Yashi Ahmed, MD, PhD
Oscar M. Cohn Professor in the Department of Molecular and Systems Biology
A Drosophila model for signaling by the APC tumor suppressor and beta-catenin oncogene.
Program Affiliations: MCB
Dr. Ahmed's Lab
Giovanni Bosco, PhD
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Genetics and molecular biology of chromosome dynamics, chromatin, and epigenetics.
Program Affiliation: MCB
Dr. Bosco's Lab
Michael D. Cole, PhD
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Molecular basis of cancer; transcription factors; mechanisms of chromosome-mediated transcriptional control; target genes for oncogenic pathways.
Program Affiliations: MCB
Dr. Cole's Lab
Jay C. Dunlap, PhD
Nathan Smith Professor of Genetics
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology and Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Molecular genetics of the circadian biological clock in N. crassa and in mammals; fungal photobiology
Program Affiliations: MCB and QBS
Dr. Dunlap's Lab
Scott A. Gerber, PhD
Kenneth E. and Carol L. Weg Distinguished Professor
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Quantitative Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics.
Program Affiliations: MCB and QBS
Dr. Gerber's Lab
Allan T. Gulledge, PhD
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Cellular neurophysiology of the cerebral cortex, with emphasis on understanding signal integration and transmission within individual neurons.
Program Affiliations: MCB and IND
Dr. Gulledge's Lab
Dionna M. Kasper, PhD
Assistant Professor Molecular and Systems Biology
The Kasper Lab investigates the developmental mechanisms governing the vascular and hematopoietic systems in health and disease. We use a combination of live imaging, genetic and biochemical approaches, and high-throughput 'omic' technologies in the zebrafish to dissect how epigenetic to posttranslational gene regulatory mechanisms control key cell fate decisions.
Program Affiliations: MCB
Steven Leach, MD
Preston T. and Virginia R. Kelsey Distinguished Chair in Cancer
Interim Dean of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Professor of Molecular and System Biology
Program Affiliations: MCB
Dr. Leach's Lab
Aaron McKenna, PhD
Associate Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
My lab is interested in how cells grow and divide to form complex structures, such as the transformation from the zygote to an adult human or from a transformed cell into a tumor mass. To study these processes, we develop technologies to trace pattern of cell divisions which recovers the lineage of each cell. This information can be combined with other measures of cell state such as single-cell transcriptomic data to develop a rich picture of how choices are made in development and how this process is dysregulated in diseases such as cancer.
Program Affiliations: MCB and QBS
Dr. McKenna's Lab
Esteban Orellana, PhD
Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Esteban investigates whether changes in the chemical modification (also known as the epitranscriptome) of RNA molecules play a role in the development of human cancers. In all cells, RNAs perform a variety of functions, including synthesizing proteins. While messenger RNAs (mRNAs) provide the instructions for producing a protein, transfer RNAs (tRNAs) "read" the information in that message and supply the necessary amino acid building blocks. To function properly, these transfer RNAs must fold into the correct three-dimensional shape, a process that requires the RNA to be chemically modified. Owing to their high cellular abundance and stability, tRNAs have been commonly considered to be housekeeping molecules. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that tRNAs are highly regulated, and that even small changes in their abundance or their nucleotide modification levels can have profound effects, leading to aberrant translation, changes in protein expression, and disease states. The tRNA epitranscriptome and the functional tRNA pool have emerged as important regulatory layers in the translation of the human genome. However, our current understanding of the functional tRNA pool is limited. Therefore, the focus of the Orellana Lab is to study the causes and effects of tRNA dysregulation in human disease and to use this knowledge to develop tRNA-based therapeutics and diagnosis.
Program Affiliations: MCB
Dr. Orellana’s Lab
Chengxiang Qiu, PhD
Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Dr. Qiu's research focuses on single-cell genomics, human disease genetics, and mammalian development, leveraging computational methods to investigate how cell differentiation and lineage commitment are orchestrated through gene expression, with the goal of uncovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying normal human development and developmental disorders, particularly neurodevelopmental disorders.
Program Affiliations: MCB and QBS
Dr. Qiu's Lab
Lauren Walker, PhD
Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Frank and Myra Weiser Scholar in the Neurosciences
The Walker lab uses a zebrafish model to study how motor neurons find their correct muscle targets to enable coordinated movement. We use a combination of genetics, molecular biology, live imaging, and transcriptomics to understand how neurons interact with cells and signals in their environment to form appropriate connections during development and regeneration.
Program Affiliations: MCB and IND
Dr. Walker's Lab
Xiaofeng Wang, PhD
Associate Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Epigenetic mechanisms of chromatin remodeling complex in cancer development; using genetic and chemical screens to identify specific vulnerabilities for cancer therapeutics.
Program Affiliations: MCB
Dr. Wang’s Lab
Hermes H. Yeh, PhD
William W. Brown 1835 Memorial Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology in the Department of Molecular and Systems Biology
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuroreceptor interactions and plasticity in the adult and developing CNS.
Program Affiliations: MCB and IND
Dr. Yeh's Lab
Secondary Faculty Appointments in the Molecular and Systems Biology Department
Erika T. Brown, PhD
Dean of Faculty Affairs
Brock Christensen, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology and
Professor of Community and Family Medicine
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Program Affiliations: MCB and QBS
H. Robert Frost, PhD
Associate Professor of Biomedical Data Science
Associate Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Program Affiliation: MCB
Jennifer Hong, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Program Affiliation: IND
Alexander Skorput, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Assistant Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Program Affiliations: MCB and IND
Michael L. Whitfield, PhD
Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology
Chair and Professor of Biomedical Data Science
DNA microarrays; Genome-wide analysis of gene expression in growth and proliferation; Expression profiling of scleroderma.
Program Affiliations: MCB and QBS
Dr. Whitfield's Lab