Mentors 2008

Department of Biological Sciences
Dr. Chloe Bulinski:
Function of the cytoskeleton during the cell cycle and differentiation
Dr. Martin Chalfie:
Developmental genetics of identified nerve cells in C. elegans
Dr. Larry Chasin:
Pre-mRNA splicing; molecular and computational approaches
Dr. Virginia Cornish:
Ribosome biochemistry
Dr. Stuart Firestein:
Cellular mechanisms and signal transduction of olfaction
Dr. Tulle Hazelrigg:
mRNA localization in Drosophila oocytes
Dr. John Hunt:
Structural biology of transmembrane transport
Dr. Songtao Jia:
Epigenetic regulation of the genome
Dr. Daniel Kalderon:
Hedgehog signaling in Drosophila development
Dr. Darcy Kelley:
Neurobiology of vocal communication and sexual differentiation
Dr. Ann McDermott:
Solid-state NMR studies of enzyme mechanism and membrane protein structure
Dr. Elizabeth Miller:
Protein folding, assembly, and the regulation of intracellular protein transport
Dr. Dana Pe'er:
The function and organization of molecular networks
Dr. Ron Prywes
Growth factor regulation of gene expression
Dr. Mike Sheetz:
Cell motility, motor molecules, & integrin-cytoskeleton interactions
Dr. Brent Stockwell:
Diagramming disease networks with chemical and biological tools
Dr. Jian Yang:
Structure, function, and regulation of ion channels
Dr. Raffa Yuste:
Function of the cortical microcircuit

Department of Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Gerard Ateshian:
Tissue engineering and cell mechanics
Dr. Edward Guo:
Bone tissue biomechanics
Dr. Elizabeth Hillman:
Optical imaging of living tissues
Dr. Clark Hung:
Cell and tissue engineering
Dr. Lance Kam:
Biophysics of cell signalling
Dr. Elisa Konofagou:
Novel Elasticity techniques such as breast elastography & ligament elastography
Dr. Helen Lu:
Design of novel composite biomaterials for implantation
Dr. Jeremy Mao:
Stem cells and multi-lineage differentiation pathways
Dr. Barclay Morrison:
Neurotrauma and repair
Dr. Samuel Sia:
Microfabrication of tissues; diagnostic devices for global health

Department of Chemistry
Dr. Ruben Gonzalez:
Ribosomal protein synthesis

Department of Psychology
Dr. Frances Champagne:
Neurobiology of maternal care and epigenetic mechanisms of transmission of behavior across generations
Dr. Norma Graham:
Mathematical models of visual perception
Dr. Carl Hart: (Lab located uptown)
Drug effects on workplace-relevant behaviors
Dr. Joy Hirsch: (Lab located uptown)
Neurocircuitory of the mind
Dr. Don Hood:
Physiological bases of visual processes
Dr. Janet Metcalfe:
Metacognition, evolution of self-reflective consciousness
Dr. Rae Silver:
Neurobiological basis of circadian rhythms
Dr. Herbert Terrace:
Primate cognition lab
Dr. Sarah Woolley:
Neural basis and behavior of social communication

Columbia University – Health Sciences Campus

Anatomy and Cell Biology
Dr. Liza Pon:
Role of the actin cytoskeleton

Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
Dr. Joachim Frank:
Cryo-electron microscopy and 3D reconstruction of protein biosynthesis Dr. Stephen Goff:
Retrovirus replication; tyrosine kinases and signal transduction
Dr. Maxwell Gottesman:
Transcription termination in E. coli and bacteriophage
Dr. Eric Greene:
DNA recombination and repair
Dr. Alla Grishok:
Short RNAs regulation of chromatin and gene expression in C. elegans
Dr. Oliver Hobert:
Genetic programs that control neural development in C. elegans
Dr. Thomas Jessell:
Vertebrate neuronal differentiation, axon guidance, and cell recognition
Dr. Richard Mann:
Control of pattern formation by homeotic genes and their downstream targets in Drosophila

Genetics & Development
Dr. Tim Bestor:
The effect of nuclear organization and DNA methyltransferases on epigenetic gene expression
Dr. Frank Costantini:
Molecular genetics of mammalian development
Dr. Laura Johnston:
Cell cycle control and growth during development
Dr. Benjamin Ohlstein:
Intestinal stem cells in Drosophila
Dr. Virginia Papaioannou:
The role of T-box genes in mammalian embryogenesis and organogenesis
Dr. Rodney Rothstein:
Yeast genetics and cellular responses to DNA damage in cancer
Dr. Gary Struhl:
Drosophila developmental genetics

Medicine
Dr. Jonathan Barasch:
Kidney organogenesis
Dr. William Blaner:
Retinol metabolism
Dr. Ira Goldberg:
Roles of lipoprotein lipase in plasma lipoprotein regulation and in acquisition of lipid by tissues
Dr. Li-Shin Huang:
ApoB secretion and hepatic lipid metabolism

Microbiology
Dr. Jonathan Dworkin:
Protein localization and chromosome segregation in Bacillus subtilis
Dr. Gabriele Grunig:
Lung immunology
Dr. Adam Ratner:
Bacterial pathogenesis and innate immunity
Dr. Christian Schindler:
Cytokine signal transduction and its role in the immune response
Dr. Howard Shuman:
ATP-driven transporters and host-pathogen interactions
Dr. Saul Silverstein:
Gene expression in human herpes and papilloma virus infected cells
Dr. Lorraine Symington:
Genetics and biochemistry of DNA recombination and repair in yeast

Nephrology
Dr. Donald Landry:
Medical application of artificial enzymes; pathogenesis of vasodilatory shock

Neurology
Dr. Sander Connolly:
Molecular mechanisms of neuronal death
Dr. Scott Small:
Correlations of memory and changes in the hippocampal formation using fMRI imaging in normal aging and in Alzheimer disease

Otolaryngology
Dr. Gloria Su:
Molecular genetics of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pathology
Dr. Asa Abeliovich:
Neurodegeneration and the life cycle of dopamine neurons
Dr. Mitchell Cairo:
Cell biology of dendritic cells, T-cells, and NK cells
Dr. Peter Canoll:
Glioma cell migration and proliferation
Dr. Gilbert Di Paolo:
Role of phosphoinositides in organelle trafficking, cytoskeletal dynamics and disease-related processes
Dr. Phyllis Faust:
Human neural migration disorder using the Pex2 mouse model
Dr. Jan Kitajewski:
Wnt and Notch genes in tumorigenesis and vascular development
Dr. Ron Liem:
Neuronal cytoskeleton and neurodegenerative disease
Dr. Yinghui Mao:
Kinetochore microtubule attachment, chromosome movement, and mitotic checkpoints
Dr. Carol Mason:
Axon guidance and synaptogenesis
Dr. Cathy Mendelsohn:
Molecular pathways controlling the development of the urogenital system
Dr. Ramon Parsons:
Genetics of breast cancer tumorigenesis
Dr. Ila Singh:
High resolution functional mapping of retroviral genes
Dr. Carol Troy:
Molecular mechanisms of neuronal death

Pharmacology
Dr. William Dauer:
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of motor system disease
Dr. Jonathan Javitch
Antagonist binding and specificity of G coupled receptors
Dr. Alice Prince :
Bacterial induction of cytokine signaling in epithelial cells
Dr. Richard Robinson:
Cardiac ion channel function and autonomic signaling cascades
Dr. Steven Siegelbaum:
Ion channel structure and function

Physiology and Cell Biophysics
Dr. Wes Grueber:
Mechanisms of dendritic morphogenesis and patterning
Dr. Brian McCabe:
Molecular genetics of synaptic development and plasticity in Drosophila
Dr. Ning Qian:
Computational modeling of neural systems and visual psychophysics
Dr. Samuel Silverstein (Dr. John Loike) :
Structure and functions of innate immunity and related diseases

Psychiatry
Dr. John Martin:
Motor development and motor recovery after spinal cord injury

Surgery
Dr. Ann Marie Schmidt:
RAGE and mechanisms linked to diabetes, cancer, inflammation

New York State Psychiatric Institute
Dr. Alex Dranovsky:
Neuro-circuitry of psychiatric disease
Dr. Jay Gingrich:
Genetic dissection of complex signaling pathways in schizophrenia
Dr. John Mann:
Serotonin and a predisposition for suicide
Dr. Tarique Perera:
The role of newly generated neurons in the mechanism of antidepressants
Dr. Stephen Rayport:
Drug action and synaptic function in rat mesolimbic dopamine neurons; relevancy to addiction and schizophrenia