Faculty

DBBS mentors and educators are key to our training mission. Those who serve as primary mentors are DBBS Program Members, and others who participate in the educational mission are General Members. Learn about DBBS Faculty Membership »

To provide a supportive learning environment for our trainees, many DBBS-affiliated faculty have completed eight or more hours of CIMER-based mentorship training with a trained facilitator, as indicated below with a profile badge.

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Find faculty of interest by entering a name, program or expertise keyword in the search bar; selecting a PhD program from the drop-down menu; or selecting the last name initial from the A-Z filter.

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Malay Choudhury, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Our current research focuses on delineating the cellular, molecular, and metabolic processes involved in the development of fibrotic disorders such as Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and how these metabolic adaptations may in turn be targeted therapeutically for IPF.

Key words
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), metabolic networks, targetable mechanisms driving fibroblast function and fibrosis

Matt Christopher, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology

Research summary
Improve outcomes for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematopoietic malignancies utilizing genomic and molecular biology techniques

Key words

Matthew A. Ciorba, MD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Immunology

Research summary
Tryptophan metabolism and probiotic bacteria as modifiers of intestinal cancer and inflammation

Key words
tryptophan metabolism, intestinal inflammation, colitis associated cancer, colon cancer, mucositis, tryptophan, crohn, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, radiation enteritis

John R. Cirrito, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Relationship between synaptic activtity and amyloid-beta metabolism in Alzheimer`s disease

Key words
Alzheimer’s disease, drug and target discovery, endocytosis, in vivo microdialysis, synaptic transmission

Roberto Civitelli, MD

Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Cancer Biology

Research summary
Connexins, cadherins in bone cell interactions with cancer and energy metabolism

Key words
bone biology, cell adhesion, signal transduction, gap junctions, cadherin

Brian Clark, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Neurosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
We study how dynamic transcriptional and epigenetic states regulate multipotent retinal progenitor cell neurogenesis and cell fate specification. Studies focus on identifying novel genes and processes that bias retinal development, including lncRNAs and DNA methylation status, using a suite of genomic tools. Integration of our studies with human genetics seeks to understand how genetic variants contribute to molecular dysfunction and manifest as inherited retinal disease.

Key words
Retina; development, lncRNA, DNA demethylation, transcription factors

Regina Clemens, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Immunology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
The mechanisms regulating calcium-dependent neutrophil activation

Key words

Barak A. Cohen, PhD

Alvin Goldfarb Distinguished Professor of Computational Biology

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Computational and Systems Biology

Research summary
Genomic analyses of regulatory networks, Non-coding disease variants

Key words
Genomics, Genetic Variation, High-Throughput Technologies, Single-Cell Regulatory Genomics, Computational Biology

Graham A. Colditz, MD, DrPH

Niess-Gain Professor

Program affiliation
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
Cancer Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Causes and prevention of breast cancer, premalignant lesions, risk stratification

Key words
breast cancer, cancer, genetic epidemiology, hormones, obesity, obesity and malnutrition

John A. Cooper, MD, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Molecular mechanisms of cell motility and cytoskeleton assembly

Key words
cell motility, cytoskeleton, actin, intermediate filament, microtubules, septin, cell migration

Jonathan Cooper, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Disease mechanisms and treatments for inherited childhood neurodegeneration

Key words
Batten Disease, Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, NCL, Lysosomal Storage Disease, pathogenesis, pre-clinical therapies, enzyme replacement, gene therapy

Megan A. Cooper, MD, PhD

Anthony R. French, MD, PhD, Professor

Program affiliation
Immunology
Human and Statistical Genetics

Research summary
The Cooper laboratory is focused on investigating the molecular and immunologic basis of inborn errors of immunity. We are particularly interested in understanding novel genetic causes of these diseases in children with immune dysregulation syndromes.

Key words
inborn errors of immunity, genetics, primary immunodeficiency STAT3, TLR8, Pediatrics

Bryan Copits, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
We study how different types of neurons encoding somatosensory modalities are assembled into functional circuits in both humans and model organisms.

Key words
pain, circuits, development, optogenetics, imaging, electrophysiology, human

Joseph C. Corbo, MD, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology

Research summary
(1) transcriptional networks in the retina; (2) the mechanistic basis of color vision; (3) the cis-regulatory basis of human uniqueness and neuropsychiatric disease

Key words
neurobiology, genomics, transcriptional networks, systems biology, photoreceptors, brain, neuropsychiatric disease, disease, cis-regulation

Richard J. Cote, MD

Paul and Ellen Lacy Professor

Program affiliation
Immunology
Cancer Biology

Research summary
Circulating tumor cell biology, use of AI on digital histologic images to predict prognosis and response to therapy

Key words
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Digital Pathology, Circulating Tumor Cells, Response to Therapy,

Douglas F. Covey, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Medicinal chemistry of steroids

Key words
cholesterol, ion channel, medicinal chemistry, neurobiology, pharmacology, steroids

Kevin L. Cox Jr., PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Research summary
Our research centers around studying how transcription factors regulate genes across tissues and organs in plant systems. We investigate this through two research areas; plant-microbe interactions and duckweed biology. Our goal is to place these transcriptional data within a spatial, cellular, and organismal context to understand how plants respond to environmental stresses.

Key words
plant biology; transcriptomics; spatial biology; imaging; molecular biology

Meaghan Creed, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Leveraging synaptic physiology to treat addiction and affective symptoms of pain

Key words
electrophysiology, deep brain stimulation, dopamine, basal ganglia, reward and aversion, addiction, genetics, pharmacology, optogenetics, pain

Sharon Cresci, MD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Human and Statistical Genetics
Computational and Systems Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Genetic variation in the variable response to pharmacologic treatment (i.e. Pharmacogenomics) of cardiovascular disease; specifically individuals with both diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease.

Key words
cardiovascular disease, diabetes melitus, genotype, genetic variation

Clair Crewe, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Understanding extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated signaling during homeostatic and pathologic metabolic regulation

Key words

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