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Patricia Dickson, MD

Centennial Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Neurosciences

Research summary
Developing therapies and studying the impact of lysosomal storage disorders in animal models and in trials

Key words

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Naomi Dirckx, PhD

Assistant Professor

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

Research summary

Key words

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Ram Dixit, PhD

Professor and Biology Department Chair

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Molecular mechanisms of cytoskeleton organization and function

Key words
cytoskeleton, molecular motors, cell morphogenesis, cell wall biogenesis, plant biology

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Bettina Drake, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Human and Statistical Genetics
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Cancer Biology

Research summary
Identifying preventive strategies to reduce cancer disparities

Key words

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Gammon Earhart, PhD, PT

Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Movement and Neurodegenerative Disease

Key words
gait, balance, Parkinson disease, motor control, movement, neurodegeneration, neuroimaging, neurorehabilitation

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John Edwards, PhD

Associate Professor

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

Research summary
We develop new computational and experimental approaches to understand the roles of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation in neurodevelopment and cancer

Key words
bioinformatics, cancer, cancer genomics, epigenetics, epigenomics, neurodevelopment, transcriptional regulation

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Gabor Egervari, PhD

Assistant Professor

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

Research summary
We aim to understand how metabolism influences epigenetics, gene expression and behavior, particularly in the context of substance use disorders and neurodegeneration

Key words
Metabolism, epigenetics, alcohol, addiction, neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s

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Lijuan Feng

Assistant Professor

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

Research summary
Our lab studies how disease-associated histone mutations disrupt chromatin and epigenetic regulation, contributing to developmental disorders, brain inflammation, and cancer. We take a multidisciplinary approach that combines biochemical and genomic assays, molecular genetics, cell biology, and both Drosophila and mouse models to investigate how these mutations impair development and drive tumorigenesis. Current projects focus on neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer-associated histone mutations, chromatin–immune crosstalk, and the discovery of chromatin-associated factors. Through this work, we aim to uncover fundamental mechanisms of chromatin dysregulation and identify new therapeutic targets.

Key words
Chromatin, Epigenetics, Gene Regulation, Cancer, Developmental Disorders, Brain Inflammation

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Francesca Ferraro, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Immunology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
We use both mouse models and patient samples of acute myloid leukemia to understand leukemogenesis and to identify novel therapeutic targets.

Key words

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Jennifer Foltz, PhD

Assistant Professor

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

Research summary
My research interests lie in integrating and applying novel computational biology techniques with mechanistic experimental immunology to understand drivers of response and resistance to NK cell therapies for cancer

Key words
natural killer cells, computational biology, single-cell sequencing, immunotherapy, nk cells