Education
- Graduate: PhD, 1990, Rockefeller University
- Undergraduate: BA, 1984, Genetics, Cambridge University
Research Summary
Different cells take on an astonishing variety of shapes, which are often critical to be able to perform specialized cell functions like absorbing nutrients or contracting muscles. We study how different cell shapes arise and how cells control the spatial distribution of their internal constituents. We take advantage of the tractability of fungal model systems, and address these questions using approaches from cell biology, genetics, and computational biology to understand molecular mechanisms.
Honors and Awards
- Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 2008
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2010
- Duke Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award, 2019
Education
- Graduate: PhD, 1989, Rockefeller University
- Undergraduate: BA, 1982, Political Science, Williams College; BS, 1984, Genetics, Cambridge University
Research Summary
Sally Kornbluth is President of MIT. Before she closed her lab to focus on administration, her research focused on the biological signals that tell a cell to start dividing or to self-destruct — processes that are key to understanding cancer as well as various degenerative disorders. She has published extensively on cell proliferation and programmed cell death, studying both phenomena in a variety of organisms. Her research has helped to show how cancer cells evade this programmed death, or apoptosis, and how metabolism regulates the cell death process; her work has also clarified the role of apoptosis in regulating the duration of female fertility in vertebrates.
Honors and Awards
- Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2020
- Member, National Academy of Inventors, 2018
- Member, National Academy of Medicine, 2013
- Distinguished Faculty Award, Duke Medical Alumni Association, 2013
- Basic Science Research Mentoring Award, Duke University School of Medicine, 2012
Previous Administrative Leadership Positions
- Provost, Duke University, 2014 – 2022
- Vice Dean for Basic Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, 2006 – 2014
Education
- Graduate: PhD, 2016, Stanford University
- Undergraduate: BA, 2009, Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Research Summary
We use the tiny, transparent jellyfish, Clytia hemisphaerica, to ask questions at the interface of nervous system evolution, development, regeneration, and function. Our foundation is in systems neuroscience, where we use genetic and optical techniques to examine how behavior arises from the activity of networks of neurons. Building from this work, we investigate how the Clytia nervous system is so robust, both to the constant integration of newborn neurons and following large-scale injury. Lastly, we use Clytia’s evolutionary position to study principles of nervous system evolution and make inferences about the ultimate origins of nervous systems.
Awards
- Searle Scholar Award, 2024
- Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience, 2023
- Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2020
- Life Sciences Research Foundation Fellow, 2017
Education
- Graduate: PhD, 2011, MIT; MD, 2013, Harvard Medical School
- Undergraduate: BA, 2006, Biology, University of Chicago
Research Summary
Diverse commensal microbes colonize every surface of our bodies. We study the constant communication between these microbes and our immune system. We focus on our largest organ: the skin. By employing microbial genetics, immunologic approaches, and mouse models, we can dissect (1) the molecular signals used by microbes to educate our immune system and (2) how different microbial communities alter immune responses. Ultimately, we aim to harness these microbe-host interactions to engineer novel vaccines and therapeutics for human disease.
Awards
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna H. Gray Fellow, 2018-2026
- A.P. Giannini Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, 2018
- Dermatology Foundation Research Fellowship, 2017
Education
- PhD, 2016, Stanford University School of Medicine
- BA, 2008, Molecular Biology, Princeton University
Research Summary
Our bodies are tuned to detect and respond to cues from the outside world and from within through exquisite collaborations between cells. For example, the cells lining our airways communicate with sensory neurons in response to chemical and mechanical signals, and evoke key reflexes such as coughing. This cellular collaboration protects our airways from damage and stabilizes breathing, but can become dysregulated in disease. Despite their vital importance to human health, fundamental questions about how sensory transduction is accomplished at these sites remain unsolved. We use the mammalian airways as a model system to investigate how physiological insults are detected, encoded, and addressed at essential barrier tissues — with the ultimate goal of providing new ways to treat autonomic dysfunction.
Awards
- Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Award, 2021
- Life Sciences Research Foundation Fellowship, 2018
Education
- PhD, 2015, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- BA, 2009, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry/Physics, Wesleyan University
Research Summary
We investigate crosstalk between CD8+ T cells and their environment at a molecular level, by dissecting the biological and metabolic programs engaged under conditions of stress. Using an array of approaches to model and perturb the local microenvironment, our research aims to reveal both the adaptive molecular changes as well as intrinsic vulnerabilities in T cells that arise within the tumor niche. Our goal is to understand how disease states remodel the fundamental mechanisms that regulate immune cell function and contribute to pathogenesis.
Awards
Education
- PhD, 2016, University of Toronto
- BSc, 2010, Biochemistry, McMaster University
Research Summary
The immune system mounts destructive responses to protect the host from threats, including pathogens and tumors. However, a trade-off emerges: if immune responses cause too much damage, they can compromise host tissue function. Conversely, if they fail to generate sufficient damage, the host may succumb to a given threat. How is the optimal balance achieved? The Wong lab investigates how cells communicate with one another and their surrounding tissue environment to accurately control the magnitude of immune responses, both in time and space. To this end, we combine the tools of immunology with interdisciplinary methods—including high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, computational approaches, and gene manipulations—to resolve, model, and perturb the control of immune responses in intact tissues. Ultimately, we aim to understand how subtle shifts in control can lead to widely divergent host outcomes, including the successful elimination of threats, tolerance, autoimmunity, chronic infection, and cancer.
Education
- PhD, 2016, MIT
- BS, 2008, Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Research Summary
We study chromatin — the complex of DNA and proteins that make up our chromosomes. We aim to understand how post-translational modifications to these building-blocks, as well as the factors that regulate these events, play essential roles in maintaining the integrity of cells, tissues, and ultimately entire organisms. We implement a combination of functional genomics, biochemical, genetic, and epigenomic approaches to study how chromatin and epigenetic factors decode the chemical language of chromatin, and how these are dysregulated in diseases such as cancer.
Awards
Education
- PhD, 2013, Harvard University
- A.B., 2007, Biochemical Sciences, Harvard University
Research Summary
To survive extreme environments, many animals have evolved the ability to profoundly decrease metabolic rate and body temperature and enter states of dormancy, such as torpor and hibernation. Our laboratory studies the mysteries of how animals and their cells initiate, regulate, and survive these adaptations. Specifically, we focus on investigating: 1) how the brain regulates torpor and hibernation, 2) how cells adapt to these states, and 3) whether inducing these states can slow down tissue damage, disease progression, and even aging. Our long-term goal is to explore potential applications of inducing similar states of “suspended animation” in humans.
Awards
- Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar, Warren Albert Foundation, 2019
- NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, 2022
- Searle Scholar, 2023
- Pew Scholar, 2023
- McKnight Scholar, 2024
Education
- PhD, 2016, Biology, MIT
- BS, 2008, Microbiology, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Research Summary
The overarching goal of the Sánchez-Rivera laboratory is to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which genetic variation shapes normal physiology and disease, particularly in the context of cancer. To do so, we develop and apply genome engineering technologies, genetically-engineered mouse models (GEMMs), and single cell lineage tracing and omics approaches to obtain comprehensive biological pictures of disease evolution at single cell resolution. By doing so, we hope to produce actionable discoveries that could pave the way for better therapeutic strategies to treat cancer and other diseases.
Awards
- V Foundation Award, 2022
- Hanna H. Gray Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2018-2026
- GMTEC Postdoctoral Researcher Innovation Grant, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 2020-2022
- 100 inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists in America, Cell Mentor/Cell Press, 2020
