University of Geneva, Switzerland /
Yale University
Appointed in 1974
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University of Geneva, Switzerland / Yale University
Appointed in 1974
Massachusetts Institute of Technology /
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1974
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1974
Harvard University Medical School /
Dartmouth Medical School
Appointed in 1964
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Harvard University Medical School / Dartmouth Medical School
Appointed in 1964
University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 1990
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University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 1990
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2017
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2017
University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 2002
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University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 2002
New York University
Appointed in 1971
University of Washington, Seattle
Appointed in 1992
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University of Washington, Seattle
Appointed in 1992
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1963
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1963
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 1993
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Appointed in 2007
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Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Appointed in 2007
Stanford University
Appointed in 1987
Pasadena Foundation for Medical Research
Appointed in 1960
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Pasadena Foundation for Medical Research
Appointed in 1960
University of Indiana
Appointed in 1958
Harvard University
Appointed in 1989
MRC Center, University Medical School, England
Appointed in 1973
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MRC Center, University Medical School, England
Appointed in 1973
University of Basel, Switzerland
Appointed in 1980
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University of Basel, Switzerland
Appointed in 1980
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 1968
University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1983
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University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1983
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Appointed in 2004
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Appointed in 2004
University of Uppsala, Sweden /
Dartmouth Medical School
Appointed in 1978
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University of Uppsala, Sweden / Dartmouth Medical School
Appointed in 1978
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Appointed in 1985
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Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Appointed in 1985
California Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1997
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California Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1997
University of Basel, Switzerland
Appointed in 1961
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University of Basel, Switzerland
Appointed in 1961
University of Washington
Appointed in 1999
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Appointed in 2011
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Appointed in 2011
Columbia University
Appointed in 1979
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2001
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2001
University of Pennsylvania
Appointed in 2001
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University of Pennsylvania
Appointed in 2001
Princeton University
Appointed in 2005
Roche Institute of Molecular Biology
Appointed in 1987
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Roche Institute of Molecular Biology
Appointed in 1987
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 1947
Columbia University
Appointed in 2022
Cells efficiently convert environmental information into specific functional responses through cascades of biochemical reactions and biomolecular interactions. High fidelity signal transduction requires spatiotemporal regulation of these molecular events. This can be accomplished through phase separation. Many signaling condensates dynamically assemble through multivalent protein–protein interactions mediated by modular interaction domains. How the molecular factors that drive phase separation enable coordinated and precise flow of information among myriad signaling pathways remains a mystery. To answer such questions that encompass molecular- and systems-level phenomena, my research focuses on developing integrative data- and physics-based modeling frameworks using the tools of machine learning and statistical mechanics. Using these approaches, I aim to decipher the modular grammar of signaling proteins that governs phase separation and, more broadly, the biophysical principles that underlie cell homeostasis.
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 2008
I am currently conducting research aimed at understanding sleep: its biological significance and how it is regulated.
I grew up in Belgrade, Serbia, convinced that the only interesting career would be in the arts or literature. Choosing science as my path came as a consequence of the harsh economic reality following the wars of the 1990s. For a while, I felt slightly uncomfortable, seeing myself as an outsider playing the role of a scientist. Now, I am convinced that science is one of the most exciting paths one can follow. I realize that scientists and artists are often cut from the same cloth, using different approaches to understand life. This may be particularly true in neuroscience, which I chose as my focus. Even without a scientific background, one can easily appreciate many of the questions asked in this field  — what does it mean to feel something, what drives us, why do we have to sleep every night? One of my hobbies is taking photographs of great works of art that have sleep as their theme. Chances are that your favorite artist is in my collection.
University of Basel, Switzerland
Appointed in 1984
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University of Basel, Switzerland
Appointed in 1984
Yale University
Appointed in 1991
University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1997
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University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1997
Princeton University
Appointed in 1989
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 2005
Washington University in St. Louis
Appointed in 1980
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Washington University in St. Louis
Appointed in 1980
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1982
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1982
Boston Children's Hospital
Appointed in 2002
Carnegie Institute for Science
Appointed in 1984
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Appointed in 1977
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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Appointed in 1977
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 1958
Stanford University
Appointed in 1965
California Institute of Technology
Appointed in 2008
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California Institute of Technology
Appointed in 2008
I am interested in how commensal bacteria influence the development of the intestinal immune system  and their impact on disease.
Bacterial organisms residing within our bodies outnumber our own cells by an order of magnitude. We are often taught that bacteria cause disease and that our immune systems function to recognize and eradicate them. However, commensal bacteria do not make us sick and our immune systems tolerate their presence. My postdoctoral research is directed at understanding why we allow these bacteria to live with us. We have shown that colonization by one of these commensal organisms  has beneficial consequences for its host as it can protect from  development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). As 30 percent of IBD patients develop colonic cancer, colonization by beneficial bacteria might also serve as a potential cancer preventive. Additionally, in studying this bacterium we have uncovered novel mechanisms by which our bodies detect and tolerate bacteria. Understanding what organisms live within our bodies and deciphering how they individually influence the development of immune responses could ultimately lead to the creation of therapies to treat multiple human diseases.
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 1990
University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 2010
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University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 2010
University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 2016
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University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 2016
The goal of my postdoctoral research is to discover essential regulatory mechanisms that control neural developmental programs and cell fates in a complex organism. Abnormal neural development is central to many pediatric diseases and the source of many cancers originating in the nervous system. Development requires precise signaling pathways to facilitate cell-cell communication and maintain normal function and prevent disease. Thus, I propose to study neural development in Xenopus tropicalis embryos, an established model system, and identify evolutionarily conserved complexes in human embryonic stem cells undergoing neuronal differentiation. A small modifying protein, ubiquitin is an important part of regulatory pathways that control nearly every aspect of cell physiology and is frequently perturbed in cancer. Recent work has demonstrated that ubiquitin modification is an essential regulator of development and cell fate. I will use combination of genetic, proteomic, biochemical, and cell biology techniques to identify crucial ubiquitin complexes and reveal the molecular mechanism of neural differentiation programs. Together, this work will provide unprecedented insight into the regulation of early embryonic differentiation programs and reveal therapeutic avenues to treat human cancers.
Harvard University
Appointed in 2008
Current Research: Probing gene expression in live eukaryotic cells at single molecule level
I majored in biotechnology and biochemical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India and joined the biophysics and computational biology graduate program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001.  I received my doctorate in 2007 for my work on understanding the mechanism of various proteins involved in replication and transcription using in vitro single molecule techniques in the Taekjip Ha laboratory. I am currently a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Sunney Xie.  My current research interests are twofold: 1) development of novel optical imaging techniques to probe the behavior of single biomolecules in live eukaryotic cells; and 2) implementation of single-molecule imaging to understand cellular gene expression and cell-fate determination. My efforts are geared towards extending the usefulness of single molecule techniques to mainstream biology.