Research in the Department of Cell Biology is focused on understanding molecular mechanisms of gene regulation in eukaryotic cells. Using mammalian cells, yeast, viruses, fruit flies and genetically engineered mouse models, we are investigating mechanisms of DNA replication and repair, control of the cell cycle and apoptosis, roles for transcriptional regulation and chromatin structure in gene expression, RNA processing, intracellular trafficking, membrane fusion and budding, mechanisms of generating antibody diversity, and the functions of cell surface sugars. These fundamental processes and their dysregulation play critical roles in all developmental and pathological contexts. Many labs in the Department of Cell Biology are studying how these processes impact the biology of stem cells and cancers.
In the News
Dr. Britta Will has been named as the new Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Scholar in Cancer Research. This endowed professorship was first established by the late long-time Einstein research supporters and Board members Mr. and Mrs. Belfer in 1998. It supports innovative basic and translational cancer research, and honors key contributions Britta and her team have been making to aid in understanding and targeting of leukemic stem cells in myeloid malignancies.
Congratulations to Britta and the Will lab!
Congratulations to Dr. Ulrich Steidl on receiving the Edward P. Evans Endowed Professorship for Myelodysplastic Syndromes!
This highly prestigious testament of excellence honors Uli’s vision for and most successful implementation of highly collaborative studies of myeloid malignancies at Einstein.
This is a new endowed professorship for Einstein and the eighth for faculty within our department. It was newly established here at Einstein by the Edward P. Evans Foundation, a philanthropic leader in supporting transformational and collaborative biomedical research in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS).
In close collaboration with Dr. Amit Verma (DMB), Uli has created a highly unique and successful environment and fostered a growing team of basic and translational investigators conducting MDS or MDS-related research inside and outside of our department. This “MDS Team” includes Drs. Kristy Stengel, Britta Will, Keisuke Ito, Kira Gritsman, Satish Nandakumar, and Maria Maryanovich from our department of Cell Biology, as well as Teresa Bowman, Aditi Shastri (both DMB), and Marina Konopleva (MolPharm) – some of whom have been awardees of EvansMDS research funding. They are joined by an exceptional clinical team including Drs. Eric Feldman, Mendel Goldfinger, Ioannis Mantzaris, and others at Montefiore. Uli and Amit’s efforts were internally recognized and honored by the creation of the Blood Cancer Institute at Montefiore Einstein in 2021.
We are deeply thankful to the Edward P. Evans Foundation for generously supporting Uli’s vision and are beyond proud of this external recognition of his outstanding leadership in biomedical sciences. This is another great example of how highly impactful and rewarding team science reaches far beyond departmental borders at Einstein and Montefiore!
Congratulations, Uli – and keep going, MDS Team!!
Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, Ph.D., is the new Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research. Julio is an international leader in cancer cell dormancy and metastasis and has helped lead a major shift in the cancer biology field by investigating how cancer cells hibernate, undetected, for long periods of time and what causes them to suddenly awaken to seed deadly, treatment-resistant metastases. His work is revealing ways to maintain residual cancer-cell dormancy, kill dormant cancer cells, and identify biomarkers for cancer recurrence. Julio is co-leader of the Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis Program and founding director of the Cancer Dormancy and Tumor Microenvironment Institute at the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC), as well as professor of cell biology, of oncology, and of medicine.
Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Scharff on the occasion of his 90th Birthday Year!
The Department of Cell Biology is pleased to honor Dr. Scharff with this tribute video celebrating his outstanding career. It consists of contributions from some of Dr. Scharff’s Einstein colleagues and former trainees. Please view the video here: https://youtu.be/-oqTxFxlne0
Dr. Scharff is a Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology and the Harry Eagle Professor of Cancer Research. He joined the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1963 and has served as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Director of the Albert Einstein Cancer Center. Dr. Scharff is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received many awards for his scientific accomplishments, his service to the scientific community, and his mentoring skills, including the 2015 Herzenberg Biolegend Award from the American Association of Immunologists. He has published more than 300 scientific papers and reviews and has trained 70 Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Jessie Larios-Valencia, a MD/PhD predoctoral candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Wenjun Guo, who was recently awarded an NIH F31 Predoctoral Individual NRSA fellowship. He will be pursuing studies dissecting the role of dedifferentiation in basal-like breast cancer.
Emily Schwenger was awarded a Google Fellowship in the category of Health Research, which will directly support her graduate research in the Steidl Lab for 2-3 years. The award is granted to innovative research in areas relevant to computer science and related fields with the intention of supporting promising PhD candidates of all backgrounds who seek to influence the future of technology. Additional information on the fellowship can be found at https://research.google/outreach/phd-fellowship/. Congratulations Emily!
On June 15, 2022, Drs. Uli Steidl and Amit Verma, longtime collaborators in the field of hematopoietic stem cells, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myeloid leukemias, presented the Montefiore Einstein Presidential Lectures. Established in 2017, this distinguished lecture series celebrates scientific excellence and the full spectrum of biomedical research at Einstein, and is normally presented by two faculty members working in the basic science and clinical investigation arena, respectively. Dr. Steidl’s lecture is entitled “Understanding the Molecular and Cellular Pathogenesis of Myeloid Malignancies at the Stem Cell Level,” and Dr. Verma’s lecture is entitled “Therapeutic Targeting of MDS and AML.”
More info on this award and Drs. Steidl and Verma’s highly innovative work can be found at:
https://www.einsteinmed.edu/docs/intranet/e-blasts/presidential-lecture-program-2022.pdf
Congratulations Uli and Amit!
We are very happy to announce the newest addition to the Cell Biology faculty, Dr. Maria Maryanovich. Dr. Maryanovich received her Bachelor of Science from Ort Braude College of Engineering, followed by a Master of Science and a Ph.D. both from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. During her thesis study, she discovered a novel survival role for the pro-apoptotic protein BID in the context of HSC response to DNA damage and HSC maintenance. This work earned her the Elchanan E. Bondi Memorial Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. In 2014, Dr. Maryanovich joined the laboratory of late Dr. Paul S. Frenette at Einstein for postdoctoral training. Since then, she has been characterizing functional changes in the aging bone marrow, focusing on age-related remodeling of neural-niche interactions. In a very important and novel study, she demonstrated that systemic administration of sympathomimetics was sufficient to rejuvenate both niche and HSC functions in mice. Dr. Maryanovich has received several prestigious recognitions including the EMBO Long-Term Postdoctoral Fellowship, the NYSCF Druckenmiller Fellowship, and the Dennis Shields Postdoctoral Research Award from Einstein. In her independent lab, she will continue the current research theme and extend the work to age-related malignancies, such as AML. Her goal is to uncover new mechanisms underlying age-dependent stem cell dysfunction with the hope that such understanding may facilitate the development of stem cell rejuvenation therapies. Dr. Maryanovich’s lab is in Price, Rm 113.
Dr. Yuhong Ma, postdoctoral scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Britta Will, received one of the 2022 American Society of Hematology Scholar Awards! This prestigious and highly competitive three-year award program supports fellows and junior faculty dedicated to careers in hematology research as they transition from their training into careers as independent investigators. The award recognizes and supports Yuhong's exciting work on the role of chaperone-mediated autophagy in leukemic stem cell maintenance. Congratulations, Yuhong !
Congratulations to Dr. Kristy Stengel on receiving the RUNX1 Early Career Investigator grant! This is a 3-year award designed to fund research leading to the development of therapies for patients with RUNX1-FPD. Loss-of-function and dominant negative germline mutations in RUNX1 cause familial platelet disorder with a predisposition to myeloid malignancy (RUNX1-FPDMM), yet the mechanism by which these mutations alter hematopoiesis and what events cooperate with germline RUNX1 mutation to drive progression to AML remain poorly defined. The funded project will use targeted protein degradation to identify RUNX1 functions relevant to RUNX1-FPD. In particular, the proposed studies aim to define RUNX1 gene expression networks, to determine the mechanism of RUNX1-mediated gene regulation at critical targets, and to determine the contribution of RUNX1-related DNA damage responses to RUNX1-FPD.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Dmitry Fyodorov and Dr. Matthew Gamble have been promoted to Professor of Cell Biology. Their promotions recognize their outstanding scholarship and reputations in the international scientific community and their contributions to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Congratulations Dmitry and Matt !
Dr. Ulrich Steidl hit another milestone in his illustrious career in leukemia research. The Dean recently announced that the Einstein Board of Trustees has approved Dr. Steidl as the Rose C. Falkenstein Chair of Cancer Research. Mrs. Rose Falkenstein is an Einstein Benefactor who established the Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research through a generous bequest following her death in 1987. The gift supports a professorial chair in perpetuity to advance the urgent needs of cancer research at Einstein.
Congratulations Uli!
Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Mohd Nauman received a Poster Award from the Society for Glycobiology at their Annual Meeting held in San Diego on November 7-10, 2021. His poster entitled, 'Glycans that Regulate Notch Signaling in Small Intestine', by Mohd Nauman and Pamela Stanley was presented by Nauman, in person and in a short video. They discovered that deletion of Eogt, an enzyme that adds O-GlcNAc to Notch EGF repeats, rescues the altered intestinal phenotype of triple Fng knockout mice which cannot extend O-fucose on Notch EGF repeats. This study reveals an unexpected, negative regulatory role played by O-GlcNAc in Notch signaling in this context. Congratulations, Nauman!
The Department is very pleased to announce the latest addition to its faculty -- Dr. Chi Zhang has been appointed a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology following a competitive search. He will fill the position previously occupied by Dr. Boris Bartholdy who returned to Germany in July to accept a position in a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Zhang obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics and Genomics from the Chiba University in Japan. Before joining Einstein, his postdoctoral experiences took him to Georgetown University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He then worked as a research scientist at New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE. He has published several interesting studies on the epigenetics of liver development and regeneration. His skills in NGS pipeline/workflow design, multiomics data analysis and visualization, including single-cell data, will be a great asset to many Cell Biology labs that are currently using these techniques in their investigations. His office is located in Chanin 417A. He can be reached at chi.zhang@einsteinmed.org and 718-839-7938.
Congratulations to Dr Ulrich G. Steidl who has just received a prestigious, seven-year Outstanding Investigator Award from the NCI to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms that lead to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Dr. Steidl is one of only 17 recipients of this NCI award in 2021, which is given to accomplished leaders in cancer research who provide significant contributions in their field. The ultimate goal of Dr Steidl's research is to develop new treatments and cures for these usually fatal disorders. Dr Steidl is a Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine, and was recently named co-director of the Blood Cancer Institute and associate director of basic science at the Albert Einstein Cancer Center (AECC). The school's web site has more complete coverage of this exciting news.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Rajni Kumari, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ulrich Steidl, for receiving the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) Medal for Young Scientists 2021!
This prestigious award recognizes contributions in research along with great potential to be a leader in research in the future. Every year a total of only 40 young Indian researchers are selected for this award. The INSA Young Scientists Award, considered to be the highest recognition of promise, creativity and excellence in a young scientist, is made annually to those distinguished for these attributes as evidenced by their research work carried out in India.
Welcome New Cell Biology Faculty! We are extremely excited to announce that four new faculty members will join the Department of Cell Biology in September, 2021.
Dr. Julio A. Aguirre-Ghiso comes to us from Mount Sinai School of Medical where he started as a tenured Associate Professor in 2008. Before his relocation to Einstein, Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso held the Endowed Mount Sinai Professor of Cancer Biology in the departments of medicine, otolaryngology, and oncological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Over the years, Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso and colleagues facilitated a major paradigm shift in cancer biology by showing that cancer cells are not perpetually proliferating, as had been previously thought. Their investigations have addressed many important questions regarding the timing, process, cellular players, and molecular mechanisms related to disseminated cancer cell dormancy and metastasis. In particular, they discovered that crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment regulates the switch between dormancy and proliferation. Currently, Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso is the president of the Metastasis Research Society. He will be an endowed Professor of Cell Biology and the founding director of a new Cancer Dormancy and Tumor Microenvironment Institute (CDTMI) at Einstein. He will also be the director of the Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center and co-leader of the Tumor Microenvironment & Metastasis Program of the Einstein Cancer Center. Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso’s lab is in Price Rm 220.
Dr. Lindsay M. LaFave received her Bachelor of Science from University of Michigan, followed by a PhD from the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School, New York. For her thesis work, she characterized the role of the BAP1/ASXL1 chromatin remodeling complex in myeloid leukemia. In 2016, she moved to MIT/Harvard to pursue her postdoctoral training with Dr. Tyler Jacks and Dr. Jason Buenrostro as a Damon Runyon Research fellow. Dr. LaFave’s recent work focused on the topic of lineage plasticity during lung cancer development. Applying single cell DNA analyses to a genetically engineered mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma, Dr. LaFave and her colleagues have identified epigenomic cell states that underlie intratumoral lineage heterogeneity and metastatic potential. They also captured critical changes in the epigenetic landscape and roles played by NKX2.1 and RUNX2. In her independent lab at Einstein, Dr. LaFave plans to use epigenomic and spatial/imaging tools, complex mouse models, organoid systems, and patient samples to study chromatin regulators that initiate and maintain intratumoral heterogeneity. Dr. LaFave’s lab is in Chanin Rm 606.
Dr. Satish Kumar Nandakumar received his initial medical training in India. In 2005, he moved to the U.S. to pursue graduate research training. He obtained a Master’s in Cellular and Molecular Biology from University of Texas at Dallas, followed by a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from University of Tennessee. In 2014, he started his postdoctoral studies at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Broad institute. His accomplishments during this period of time were recognized by 4 fellowship/scholar awards including a prestigious ASH Scholar Award. Dr. Nandakumar used insights from GWAS to investigate regulatory mechanisms controlling normal and aberrant hematopoiesis. He developed high-throughput approaches to prioritize causal variants and provided direct evidence that genetic variants associated with myeloproliferative leukemia and clonal hematopoiesis risk influenced hematopoietic enhancers and resulted in expansion of long-term HSCs. The overarching goal of Dr. Nandakumar’s research is to understand how germline genetic variants predispose to hematologic malignancies and how they interact with somatic driver mutations during clonal evolution. Dr. Nandakumar’s lab is temporarily in Ullmann Rm 915 and his permanent lab will be in Chanin Rm 413.
Dr. Kristy Stengel received both her Bachelor of Science in Biology and her PhD from University of Cincinnati. In 2011, she began her postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University in the laboratory of Dr. Scott Hiebert, where she investigated how HDAC3 regulates gene expression and epigenetic programs to influence lymphocyte development. During this period, she was awarded an American Cancer Society fellowship. In 2017, she was promoted to Research Assistant Professor. Since then, she has applied a CRISPR-mediated chemical genetics approach to characterize in vivo functions of leukemogenic transcription factors. This “fast biology” strategy enables greater kinetic resolution and has produced some very novel and important insights about the properties of AML-ETO and PAX3-FOXO1 fusions both in terms of their binding kinetics and the roles of their chromatin environment. In her new lab at Einstein, she will further her studies of oncogenic transcription factor networks in the context of hematologic malignancies. She will also use synthetic lethal screening and novel mouse models to address cancer pathogenesis and therapeutics questions. Dr. Stengel’s lab is in Chanin Rm 403.
Congratulations to Dr. Britta Will on her promotion to the Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine! This is a very well deserved recognition of her scientific accomplishments and contributions to Einstein and the national and international research communities.
Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Brown from Dr. Margaret Kielian’s lab! Rebecca is a recipient of this year’s Dennis Shields Postdoctoral Research Prize. This award recognizes her outstanding work that revealed the mechanisms used by alphavirus to selectively package its genomic RNA.
Congratulations! Dr. Britta Will, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Oncology) and Cell Biology, is a winner of the Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research.
The Pershing Square Sohn Prize competition is one of the most highly selective competitions in the cancer research field. As you can see from the list of other awardees below, this is a truly major achievement for Britta, reflecting the tremendous progress that she and her lab colleagues have achieved and the exceptionally high potential for important future contributions.
Please read more about Britta’s receiving this award on the Einstein web site at
https://www.einsteinmed.org/news/2394/britta-will-phd-wins-pershing-square-sohn-prize-for-cancer-research/
Congratulations to Dr. Kira Gritsman on her promotion to the rank of Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine! As many of us know, Dr. Gritsman is a practicing hematology-oncologist who leads a highly productive research program. This promotion is a well-deserved recognition of her many accomplishments in research, clinical care, and her role in Einstein’s educational mission.
At the commencement on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, the College of Medicine presented a faculty research award — the Saul R. Korey Award for Translational Medicine and Science — to Dr. Ulrich Steidl. The award was established to honor the memory of Einstein's founding chair of Neurology Dr. Saul R. Korey, who left a profound legacy and influence at the medical school and beyond with regard to neurology, neuroscience and translational medicine. This award recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies Dr. Korey's philosophy of translating basic science knowledge to clinical medicine through innovative and collaborative research.
Dr. Ulrich Steidl's selection for this award is well-deserved. Since joining the Einstein faculty in 2008, Dr. Steidl has led a flourishing research program that started from the initial focus on transcriptional regulation of AML to clonal evolution of pre-leukemic stem cells and genetic regulation at the single cell level. Along the way, he and his colleagues have made a number of very important discoveries in this field and developed novel, mechanism-based therapeutic approaches. Some of those have entered clinical testing or preclinical commercial development and post significant translational potential.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Justin Wheat, M.D./Ph.D. candidate, mentors Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D. and Robert H. Singer, Ph.D., who was awarded the 2020 Julius Marmur Graduate Student Research Award. Read more....
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Rajni Kumari, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ulrich Steidl, who was awarded a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) !
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Ulrich Steidl on receiving the inaugural 2019 Scholar Achievement Award of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Dr. Steidl is well known for his innovative research and collaborative approach to science. Dr. Steidl has produced an impressive publication record in high impact journals, including papers on pre-cancerous and leukemic stem cells and leukemic progression, as well as critical information regarding the role of myeloid transcription factors in leukemia. He is also developing and testing new drugs to clinically translate these studies to help MDS and AML patients.
Congratulations to Urvi! Dr. Urvi Shah, M.D., a former Montefiore Hematology and Oncology Fellow and newly appointed faculty member of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, is the first prize winner of this year’s Henry L. Moses Award in the clinical research category. As part of her fellowship training, Dr Shah performed 2 years research in Dr. Ye’s laboratory which led to a first author publication in Blood last year. The award winning study is entitled “North American ATLL has a Distinct Mutational and Transcriptional Profile and responds to epigenetic therapies”. The Henry L. Moses awards recognize research excellence of fellows and junior faculty members of Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Shah received the award at the annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, March 23rd from Dr. Steven M. Safyer, President and CEO, and Dr. Victor B. Hatcher, Research Director of Montefiore Medicine.
Dr. Margaret Kielian, a leading expert in viral infection mechanisms, is the recipient of the 2019 Marshall S. Horwitz, M.D. Faculty Prize for Research Excellence. The community-wide ceremony will be held in Robbins Auditorium on Monday, March 11, 2019, at 4 p.m. The award presentation and lecture will be followed by a reception. Please join Dr. Kielian as she shares some of the most exciting findings on how alphaviruses and flaviviruses enter and exit the host cell. Her lecture is entitled: How Viruses Infect a Cell: Structure, Function and Inhibition of Virus Membrane Fusion Proteins.
Congratulations, Dr. Kielian!
Dr. Kielian is the 5th faculty member from this department to receive this distinguished award since its inception 13 years ago. Previous recipients of the Marshall Horwitz Price include Dr. Matthew Scharff, Dr. Stanley Nathenson, , Dr. Pamela Stanley, and Dr. Carl Schildkraut.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Jiahao Chen, an predoctoral student in the laboratory of Dr. Ulrich Steidl, who was recently awarded the 2019 Julius Marmur Graduate Student Research Awards for his study entitled “Myelodysplastic Syndromes Progression to Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the Stem Cell Level”
He will present his award-winning studies at the 23nd Annual Julius Marmur Research Symposium on Monday, March 18, 2019 at 10:00am in the 3rd Floor Lecture Hall (Forch). The entire Einstein community is invited to the Symposium.
As the holiday season is approaching, good news comes in pairs for Cell Biology!
Congratulations to Dr. Barbara Birshtein on her receiving the 2018 Basic Science Faculty Mentoring Award! This is truly a well-deserved recognition, the latest in a long list of distinctions that Barbara has received in her career. The Ceremony will be held on December 19 at 4:30 PM in Price, please join us to celebrate with Barbara. RSVP at
http://www.einsteinmed.org/administration/diversity-mentoring-invite/invite.html
Kudos to Peter! Peter Schultes, our Scientific Facilities Coordinator, has been chosen as the inaugural recipient of the Innovative Excellence Award. The Innovative Excellence Award is given to staff members whose innovation and forward thinking enhances Einstein’s organization culture through their contributions and adaptation of existing programs, procedures and processes and the development of new initiatives that positively impacts operations. This award reflects Peter's outstanding performance, commitment to excellence and dedication to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
The Staff Recognition Ceremony will be held on Monday, December 17, 2018, at 1:45 p.m., in the Lubin Dining Hall.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Kira Gritsman, Assistant Professor in Medicine and Cell Biology, who has been awarded the Osler Young Investigator Award from The Interurban Clinical Club (ICC). ICC is a club of physician-scientists that was founded by Sir William Osler in 1905. The Sir William Osler Young Investigator Award recognizes Dr. Gritsman for "outstanding achievement by a young clinician-scientist in the tradition of Sir William Osler.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Brown, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Margaret Kielian, who was awarded the Charles H. Revson Senior Fellowship in Biomedical Sciences (2018-2020).
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Samuel Taylor, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ulrich Steidl, who has been awarded a two year NYSCF Druckenmiller Fellows Award! He will be pursuing studies into pharmacological inhibition of the transcription factor PU.1 as a novel treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.
Congratulations! Dr. Britta Will, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Oncology) and Cell Biology, is a winner of the Michael Price Seeds of Science Award in its inaugural year. This award was established by the Price Family Foundation Fund. One of the two grants awarded this year will support Dr. Will and her collaborator, Dr. David Loeb, Chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, in their mechanistic studies of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Their planned work will focus on the molecular and physiological role played by chaperone-mediated autophagy, a process that cells use to get rid of damaged or surplus proteins, particularly under stress.
Dr. Carl Schildkraut, a longtime member of the Cell Biology Department and a world-renowned expert in DNA replication, is the recipient of the 2018 Marshall S. Horwitz, M.D. Faculty Prize for Research Excellence. On Monday, March 12, Dr. Schildkraut will share some highlights from his exceptionally productive career in his award lecture. The award presentation, lecture, and the post-award reception will be held at Robbins Auditorium starting at 4 pm.
Congratulations Carl, on this very well-deserved recognition!
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Ali Zahalka, an predoctoral student in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Frenette, who was recently awarded the 2018 Julius Marmur Research Awards for his study entitled “Adrenergic nerves activate an angio-metabolic switch in prostate cancer”
(mentor: Dr. Paul Frenette)
He will present his award-winning studies at the 22nd Annual Julius Marmur Research Symposium on Monday, March 19, 2018 at 10:00am in the 3rd Floor Lecture Hall (Forch). The entire Einstein community is invited to the Symposium.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Richard Piszczatowski, an MD/PhD predoctoral student in the laboratory of Dr. Ulrich Steidl, who was recently awarded an NIH NRSA F30 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award for the project entitled "Investigating the role of Nol3 in normal and malignant hematopoiesis"!
Dr. Barnali Biswas received a poster award of $500 for her poster presented at the Dennis Shields Awards. She recently received a prestigious INSPIRE award from the Department of Science and Technology of the government of India. The award will allow her to set up her laboratory as an Assistant Professor in Mumbai at the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Wenjun Guo on his promotion to the rank of Associate Professor of Cell Biology!
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Keisuke Ito on his promotion to the rank of Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine!
The Department of Cell Biology would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Ulrich Steidl on receiving his tenure from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine! This is a very well deserved recognition of the outstanding productivity of his research program and his numerous contributions to and leadership in Einstein’s teaching and research programs.
Dr. Advaitha Madireddy, Postdoctoral fellow in Cell Biology, is the recipient of a five-year K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Grant/Award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH. The grant was awarded to support her study to investigate how replicative defects drive hematological abnormalities and cancer predisposition in Fanconi anemia patients.
On June 7, Dr. Art Skoultchi, Chair of Cell Biology, presented the Keynote Lecture at the National Cancer Institute Center of Excellence in Chromosome Biology.
the Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Advaitha Madireddy, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Carl Schildkraut, who has been awarded the Dennis Shields Awards for Outstanding Postdoctoral Research.
On March 19th, Dr. Pamela Stanley presented a Keynote Lecture at the Gordon Conference on Glycobiology held in Ventura, California.
The Graduate School just announced the winners of the 2017 Julius Marmur Research Awards. Of the four winners this year, two are from the Department of Cell Biology: Halley Pierce and Robert Stanley. Congratulations to Halley and Robert and their laboratories for receiving this prestigious award! They will present their award-winning studies at the 21th Annual Julius Marmur Research Symposium on Monday, March 20, 2017.
Halley Pierce -- for her study entitled “Central nervous system Chrm1 signals prime hematopoietic stem cells for mobilization via a glucocorticoid mediated relay”. (mentor: Dr. Paul Frenette).
Robert Stanley -- for his study entitled “A myeloid tumor suppressor role for NOL3”. (mentor: Dr. Ulrich Steidl).
On Dec 8th, the Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Rebecca Brown, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Margaret Kielian, who has been awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship from the NIH.
On Nov 17th, Dr. Margaret Kielian presented the Keynote Lecture at the 18th Annual Norman P. Salzman Memorial Symposium at NIH. This annual meeting was established to honor the memory of Dr. Norman P. Salzman, one of the pioneers of molecular virology and a founding editor of the Journal of Virology. It is also widely considered to be the premier virology symposium hosted at the NIH.
Dr. Britta Will, Assistant Professor in Medicine and Cell Biology, is the recipient of a three-year Foundation Scholars Award from the Alexandrine and Alexander L Sinsheimer Fund. The fund was made to support her study on how transcriptional and epigenetic dysregulation drives cancer stem cell formation in leukemia. Congratulations.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate the following four Predoctoral Fellows and their laboratories who received NIH Predoctoral Fellowship Awards.
Ali Zahalka -- NIH NRSA F30 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award for a project entitled "Contributions of sympathetic signals to prostate cancer progression" (Sponsor, Paul Frenette, Cell Biology) .
Sean Healton -- NIH NRSA F30 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award for a project entitled "Epigenetic activity of normal and cancer-associated mutant H1 linker histones" (Sponsor, Arthur Skolutchi, Cell Biology).
Cary Weiss -- NIH NRSA F30 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award for a project entitled "MicroRNA-22 and the microRNA-22/tet2 network as regulators of the cell fate decision in hematopoietic stem cells and in the development of myelodysplastic syndrome" (Sponsor, Keisuke Ito, Cell Biology).
Ruth Howe -- NIH NRSA F30 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award for a project entitled "Characterizing the Novel Protein C15ORF65" (Sponsor, Ulrich Steidl, Cell Biology).
Congratulations to Dr. Ulrich Steidl on his promotion to the rank of Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine! This is a very well deserved recognition of the outstanding productivity of his research program and his numerous contributions to and leadership in Einstein’s teaching and research programs.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Elena Tosti, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Winfried Edelmann, who has been awarded a fellowship from the Department of Defense.
Congratulations! Dr. Ulrich Steidl, Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Medicine, has been honored with election to the prestigious American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). The society was established in 1908 and is one of the nation's oldest and most respected medical honor societies.
https://www.the-asci.org/about.shtml
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Dachuan Zhang, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Frenette, who has been awarded of the 2016 Julius Marmur Research Awards for his proposal, “Neutrophil aging is regulated by the microbiome".
Welcome New Cell Biology Faculty! Britta Will, Ph.D. was appointed assistant professor in the Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology in December 2015.
Dr. Will received her Ph.D. training at Harvard Medical School and the University of Freiburg, Germany. Prior to this appointment, Britta did outstanding research on the regulation of normal hematopoietic and malignant stem cell function under Dr. Ulrich Steidl’s mentorship.
Her research program dissects how age-related changes in gene-regulatory mechanisms contribute to hematopoietic stem cell failure and malignant transformation and exploits a combination of genetic mouse models, primary human specimen and cutting-edge molecular and cell biological assay systems.
Dr. Will’s laboratory is located in Room 401 of the Chanin Building. [web page]
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Arthur Skoultchi, Chairman of the Department, who is the recipient of the 2015 Faculty Mentoring Award.
The ceremony will be held at 4:30PM, December 10, 2015, in Lubin Dining Hall.
Dr. Kira Gritsman, Assistant Professor in Medicine and Cell Biology, is the recipient of a 3-year Sinsheimer Scholar award. The grant was made to support her research on the roles of PI3 Kinase in myeloid leukemia cells and their bone marrow niche. Congratulations!
The Department of Cell Biology would like extend a very warm welcome to our newest faculty member, Associate Professor Dr. Matthew Gamble. Dr. Gamble has been on the faculty in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology since 2009. He was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and he will join our department with a secondary appointment as Associate Professor of Cell Biology. Several labs in our department have already had very fruitful interactions with Dr. Gamble and his lab members. Dr Gamble’s research interests include mechanisms of mammalian gene regulation at the levels of transcription and splicing, chromatin structure and function and their impact on malignant transformation, cellular senescence and DNA repair mechanisms, with a focus on the role macro domain-containing proteins. His laboratory is located in 203 Golding Building.
The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Michael Willcockson, an MD/PhD student in the laboratory of Dr. Arthur Skoultchi, who has been awarded an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship for his proposal, “Regulators of the Erythroid Terminal Differentiation Decision and their Connection to the Cell Cycle".
Britta Will, Instructor in Cell Biology, has received a prestigious 2-year research grant from the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation. She will use the funding to characterize molecular abnormalities in HSCs of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome in order to develop mechanism-based therapeutic approaches.
Inaugural Honoree — The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) has selected Dr. Matthew Scharff as the first-ever recipient of its inaugural 2015 AAI-BioLegend Herzenberg Award, which he will receive this spring during a special session at IMMUNOLOGY2015™. The honor recognizes an individual who has made exemplary research contributions to the field of B cell biology. Dr. Scharff is world-renowned as a pioneer in the development and application of monoclonal antibodies, which have become a cornerstone in biomedical research. He is distinguished professor of Cell Biology and of Medicine, as well as the Harry Eagle Chair in Cancer Research/National Women's Division and faculty supervisor of the Hybridoma and Tissue Culture Facility. The AAI-BioLegend Herzenberg Award was established, with support from BioLegend to honor the memory of AAI member Dr. Leonard A. Herzenberg.
Congratulations to Dr. Travis Bernardo and Dr. Barnali Biswas for winning Postdoctoral Fellowship awards!
Dr. Travis Bernardo, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Skoultchi lab, is the recipient of a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F32 Fellowship from the NIH.
Dr. Barnali Biswas, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Stanley lab, is the recipient of a Postdoctoral Fellowship from The Lalor Foundation.
On 5/6/2015, Dr. Pamela Stanley gave a lecture in the NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS), which is the highest-profile lecture program at the NIH. Her lecture was entitled “ Glycans that regulate development and notch signaling”.
Dr. Barbara Birshtein has been selected as this year’s recipient of the LaDonne H. Shulman Award for Excellence in Teaching. The recipient of this award is nominated and selected by the graduate students as a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary skill in teaching and mentoring.
Of special note: This is the second time that Barbara has received this award!
Congratulations to Barbara on this very appropriate recognition of her dedication and teaching and mentoring skills by the graduate students.
Election to fellow is an honor bestowed upon American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) members by their peers. In 2014, 401 AAAS members were awarded this honor because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Among the six AECOM faculty members who received this distinction, three are members of the Department of Cell Biology.
Margaret Kielian, Ph.D. – Elected for distinguished contributions to the field of virology, particularly for studies on the alphavirus and flavivirus membrane fusion proteins and on virus entry and exit. Dr. Kielian is Professor of Cell Biology and Samuel H. Golding Chair in Microbiology.
Richard Kitsis, M.D. – Elected for distinguished contributions to fundamental and translational aspects of cell death, particularly for originating and driving the field of cell death in the heart. Dr. Kitsis is Professor of Medicine and of Cell Biology, the Dr. Gerald and Myra Dorros Chair in Cardiovascular Disease and Director of the Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute at Einstein and attending physician, cardiology at Montefiore Medical Center.
Robert Singer, Ph.D. – Elected for distinguished contributions to the development and application of imaging technologies and insights into the kinetics and spatial distributions of single mRNAs in living cells. Dr. Singer is Professor and Co-Chair of Anatomy & Structural Biology, Professor of Neuroscience and of Cell Biology, Co-Director of the Gruss Lipper Biophotonics Center and of the Integrated Imaging Program, and the Harold and Muriel Block Chair in Anatomy & Structural Biology.
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