GIDS-REM Program Faculty
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![Associate Professor Ajay Anand.](../../assets/images/staff/ajay.jpg)
Anand, Ajay
Professor of Data Science
Deputy Director, Goergen Institute of Data Science
- Office Location
- 1203 Wegmans Hall
- Telephone
- (585) 276-3149
Interests: Data analytics, machine learning, and deep learning for healthcare; Biomedical/ultrasound signal processing, biomedical instrumentation, predictive modeling, time-series analysis
![Headshot of Jennifer.](anolik-jennifer/assets/images/jennifer-howitt-anolik.jpg)
Anolik, Jennifer
Professor, Interim Chief and Associate Chair (Research), Department of Medicine, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Mechanisms of B cell tolerance in systemic lupus, bone marrow B cell development, and B cell regulation by the innate immune system and of the bone compartment in lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Both translational approaches and murine models are utilized to study the diversity of B cell roles in systemic autoimmunity.
![Headshot of John.](ashton-john/assets/images/john-m-ashton.jpg)
Ashton, John
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Genetics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Cancer biology, specifically leukemia stem cell (LSC) biology
B
![Headshot of Jeevisha.](bajaj-jeevisha/assets/images/jeevisha-bajaj.jpg)
Bajaj, Jeevisha
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Genetics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Define the role of cancer stem cell interactions with their microenvironment in disease progression.
![Danielle Benoit](https://www.hajim.rochester.edu/bme/people/secondary_faculty/benoit_danielle/assets/images/benoit-danielle_200x260.jpg)
Benoit, Danielle
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Telephone
- (585) 273--269
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Therapeutic Biomaterials
![Headshot of Paul.](boutz-paul/assets/images/paul-l-boutz.jpg)
Boutz, Paul
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Implement a multi-disciplinary approach that includes molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, and state-of-the-art genome engineering to understand the essential roles of RNA processing in normal and tumor cell physiology, and to uncover the molecular mechanisms by which drugs alter gene expression.
![Profile Photo](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/brisson_jennifer/assets/images/brisson2020.jpeg)
Brisson, Jennifer
she/her/hers
Professor
Research Active
- Office Location
- 310 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 275-8392
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Evolution of morphology; Molecular basis of phenotypic plasticity; Evolution and development in the pea aphid; The role of epigenetics in polyphenism
C
![Headshot of Laura.](calvi-laura/assets/images/laura-m-calvi.jpg)
Calvi, Laura
Professor, SKAWA Foundation Professor in Endocrinology and Metabolism - Department of Medicine , Endocrine/Metabolism, Vice Chair for Basic & Translational Science, Department of Medicine Professor - Department of Pharmacology and Physiology (SMD) and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Molecular mechanisms of osteoblastic regulation of hematopoietic stem cells; Role of osteoblasts in coordinating the actions of other bone marrow cellular components (osteoclasts, endothelial cells and adipocytes) for HSC regulation; Regulation of malignant stem cells by bone microenvironmental factors; Role of HSC niche components in response to toxic or irradiation injury; Therapeutic targeting of the HSC niche to improve HSC expansion (in vivo and in vitro), response to toxic injury and malignant stem cell eradication
![Headshot of Darren.](carpizo-darren/assets/images/darren-r-carpizo.jpg)
Carpizo, Darren
Professor, Department of Surgery, Cancer center
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Cancer biology with an emphasis on developmental therapeutics. Employ a variety of experimental systems including mouse cancer models, patient derived tissues as well as therapeutic clinical protocols.
![Mujdat Cetin](https://www.hajim.rochester.edu/ece/people/faculty/cetin_mujdat/assets/images/Cetin.jpg)
Cetin, Mujdat
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor of Computer Science
Robin and Tim Wentworth Director, Goergen Institute for Data Science
Director, New York State Center of Excellence in Data Science
- Office Location
- 1211 Wegmans Hall and 719 Computer Studies Building
- Telephone
- (585) 276-5061
Interests: computational sensing and imaging as applied to radar and biomedical imaging; probabilistic methods for image and video analysis as applied to biomedical image analysis, microscopic neuroimaging, and computer vision; signal processing and machine learning for brain-computer/machine interfaces, with applications for alternative communication and rehabilitation for patients and monitoring of cognitive states
![Profile Photo](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/chen_nancy/assets/images/chen_pic_2018.jpg)
Chen, Nancy
she/her/hers
Assistant Professor
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 477 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 276-7149
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Population genetics with pedigrees; Contemporary evolution in natural populations; Evolutionary genetics; Conservation genomics; Avian genomics
D
![A headshot of Caitlin Dreisbach.](../../people/faculty/dreisbach-caitlin/assets/images/cdreisbach.jpg)
Dreisbach, Caitlin
she/her/hers
Assistant Professor
- Office Location
- HWH 2W211
- Telephone
- (585) 275-0336
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: The use of data science to make better clinical assessments during pregnancy; Co-creation of health care technologies with patients
![Headshot of Andrew.](dylag-andrew/assets/images/andrew-m-dylag.jpg)
Dylag, Andrew
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Understanding the effects of neonatal oxygen exposure on lung development, respiratory physiology, airway hyperreactivity, and response to respiratory viral infections in mice. Quantifying neonatal oxygen exposure in preterm infants to understand their effects on long-term pulmonary function, response to respiratory infections, and long-term pulmonary morbidity.
F
![Profile Photo](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/fay_justin/assets/images/fay_photo.jpg)
Fay, Justin
Professor
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
Undergraduate researchers
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 319 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 275-2998
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Evolutionary genetics; Domestication of yeast; Comparative genomics; Gene regulation
![Dragony Fu](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/fu_dragony/assets/images/fu.jpg)
Fu, Dragony
Mercer Brugler Distinguished Teaching Professor
Professor of Biology
Director, Graduate Affairs and Admissions in Biology
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 333 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 276-3346
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: RNA modification and translation regulation; Neurodevelopmental disorders linked to RNA function; Biochemistry and molecular biology
G
![Headshot of Steve.](gill-steve/assets/images/steven-r-gill.jpg)
Gill, Steve
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: The study of human microbiome communities in neonates and infectious disease; Pathogenesis and genomics of bacterial pathogens
![Vera Gorbunova](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/gorbunova_vera/assets/images/gorbunova.jpg)
Gorbunova, Vera
Doris Johns Cherry Professor
Professor of Biology
Co-director, Rochester Aging Research Center
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
Undergraduate researchers
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 434 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 275-7740
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Mechanisms of aging; Comparative biology of aging; Comparative biology of aging; DNA repair and genomic instability; Anticancer therapy
![Headshot of Susan.](groth-sue/assets/images/susan-groth.jpg)
Groth, Sue
Professor, Department of Nursing
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Problem of obesity stems from years of practice where women frequently lamented that they gained weight when they had their children and then never lost it.
H
![Headshot of Jeanne.](holden-wiltse-jeanne/assets/images/jeanne-holden-wiltse.jpg)
Holden-Wiltse, Jeanne
Senior Associate, Department of Clinical and Translational Research (SMD)
Senior Associate, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology (SMD) - Joint
- Web Address
- Website
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![J. David Lambert](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/lambert_david/assets/images/lambert.jpg)
Lambert, J. David
Professor
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
Undergraduate researchers
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 344 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 273-2482
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: The evolution of developmental mechanisms; Early patterning in molluscs and related groups; Cytoskeletal basis of asymmetric cell divisions; Evolution of novel phenotypes
![Headshot of Hartmut.](land-hartmut/assets/images/hartmut-k-land.jpg)
Land, Hartmut
Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Genetics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Nature and underlying principles of cancer gene cooperation originating with the discovery that multiple oncogenic mutations are required for malignant cell transformation
![Amanda Larracuente](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/larracuente_amanda/assets/images/larracuente_2016.jpeg)
Larracuente, Amanda
she/her/hers
Nathaniel and Helen Wisch Professor of Biology
Professor of Biology
Associate Chair, Department of Biology
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
Undergraduate researchers
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 343 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 273-1693
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Evolutionary genetics and genomics; Intragenomic conflict and the evolution of selfish DNA; Evolutionary and functional genomics of satellite DNA; Sex chromosome and dot chromosome evolution in Drosophila; Centromere organization and evolution
![Xin Zhiguo Li](../../people/faculty/li-xin-zhiguo/assets/images/xin-li.jpg)
Li, Xin Zhiguo
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Urology
- Telephone
- (585) 275-6576
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Interdisciplinary approach that includes genetics, epigenetics, RNA biochemistry, reproductive biology, early embryology, and bioinformatics, and testing our findings across different model organisms including mammals and birds.
![Profile Image](../../people/faculty/li-dongmei/assets/images/dongmei-li.jpg)
Li, Dongmei
Professor, Department of Clinical and Translational Research, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Public Health Sciences
- Office Location
- 1.265 Saunders Research Building
- Telephone
- (585) 276-7285
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: biostatistics; microarray data analysis; genomic data analysis especially in methylation and transcriptome data analysis; social media data analysis; public health
![Headshot of John.](lueck-john/assets/images/john-d-lueck.jpg)
Lueck, John
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology and Department of Neurology
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Molecular genetics and experimental treatment of diseases resulting from nonsense mutations
M
![Headshot of Thomas.](mariani-thomas/assets/images/thomas-j-mariani.jpg)
Mariani, Thomas
Professor, Department of Pediatrics , Neonatology
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Studying immune cell dysregulation associated with chronic respiratory morbidity following preterm birth; Identifying diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets defining severity of clinical responses to respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants; Determining the contribution of resident cells and the extracellular matrix to normal lung development, lung homeostasis and susceptibility to respiratory disease; Characterizing the cellular and pathological effects of exposure to non-traditional tobacco-related products, particularly during childhood
![Matthew McCall](../../people/faculty/mccall_matthew/assets/images/mccall.jpg)
McCall, Matthew
Associate Professor of Biostatistics
Associate Director, Statistics PhD Program
- Office Location
- 4143 Saunders Research Building
- Telephone
- (585) 273-3177
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Statistical genomics; Systems biology; Bioinformatics
![Headshot of Stephano.](mello-stephano/assets/images/stephano-spano-mello.jpg)
Mello, Stephano
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Genetics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Nuclear proteins and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulate gene transcription in pancreatic preneoplastic lesions, gaining knowledge of the process of cellular transformation and tumor initiation.
![Headshot of Ying.](meng-ying/assets/images/ying-meng.jpg)
Meng, Ying
Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Identifying perinatal metabolic and psychosocial risks related to the development of eating behaviors in young children.
![Headshot of Cynthia.](monaco-cynthia/assets/images/cynthia-monaco.jpg)
Monaco, Cynthia
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Elucidating components of the bacterial and viral microbiome in healthy and disease states using next-generation sequencing. Study the lung microbiome in transplant recipients
![Headshot of Patrick.](murphy-patrick/assets/images/patrick-j-murphy.jpg)
Murphy, Patrick
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Genetics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Mechanisms that activate or silence genes as cells transition from one state to another. In very early embryos, stem cells begin to divide and change.
N
![Headshot of Sam.](norman-haignere-sam/assets/images/26623.jpg)
Norman-Haignere, Sam
Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology (SMD)
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering (SMD) - Joint
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience (SMD) - Joint
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Developing computational and experimental methods to understand the representation of complex, natural stimuli in the human brain and applies these methods to understand the neural and computational mechanisms that underlie human hearing.
O
![Headshot of Thomas.](oconner-tom/assets/images/thomas-g-oconnor.jpg)
O’Conner, Tom
Professor, Department of Psychiatry , Research
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Epidemiological, observational and experimental designs and incorporates behavioral, physiological, genetic, and immunological methods.
P
![Daven C. Presgraves](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/presgraves_daven/assets/images/presgraves2022.png)
Presgraves, Daven C.
Dean's Professor
Professor of Biology
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 481 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 275-0925
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Evolutionary genetics ; Speciation genetics; Molecular population genetics; Selfish gene complexes
![Headshot of Gloria.](pryhuber-gloria/assets/images/gloria-pryhuber.jpg)
Pryhuber, Gloria
Professor, Department of Pediatrics , Neonatology
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity; Lung Development
Q
![Headshot of Xing.](qui-xing/assets/images/xing-qiu.jpg)
Qui, Xing
Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: High-throughput data processing and analysis; multi-modal data integration; functional data analysis; network analysis based on differential equation models
S
![Headshot of Andrew.](samuelson-andrew/assets/images/andrew-samuelson.jpg)
Samuelson, Andrew
Research Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Genetics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: understanding why aging organisms increasingly lose the cellular ability to maintain proper function and folding of the proteome (proteostasis)
![Headshot of Kristin.](scheible-kristin/assets/images/kristin-scheible.jpg)
Scheible, Kristin
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Microbiology and Immunology
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Understanding the specific ways in which premature birth disrupts normal T cell development, and the impact of abnormal T cell development on a premature infant's clinical outcomes.
![Andrei Seluanov](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/seluanov_andrei/assets/images/seluanov2016.jpg)
Seluanov, Andrei
Professor
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
Undergraduate researchers
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 432 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 275-6636
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Molecular and cell biology; Tumor suppressor mechanisms in log-lived rodents the Naked Mole-Rat and Eastern Grey Squirrel; Mammalian Sirt proteins in regulation of stress response during aging; Anti-cancer mechanisms in whales
![Headshot of Michael.](sohn-michael/assets/images/michael-b-sohn.jpg)
Sohn, Michael
Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology
- Web Address
- Website
![Headshot of Laurie.](steiner-laurie/assets/images/laurie-a-steiner.jpg)
Steiner, Laurie A.
Professor, Department of Pediatrics , Neonatology, Lindsey Distinguished Professorship for Pediatric Research, Department of Pediatrics
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: How specific DNA sequences, DNA binding proteins, and chromatin structure interact during normal erythropoiesis.
![Robert Strawderman](../../people/faculty/strawderman_robert/assets/images/strawderman.jpg)
Strawderman, Robert
Donald M. Foster MD Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics
Chair, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology (SMD)
- Office Location
- 4122 Saunders Research Building
- Telephone
- (585) 275-6688
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Statistical learning methods with applications to risk prediction and survival analysis; Statistical and computational modeling for high dimensional data; Semiparametric models; Statistical inference for stochastic processes; Collaborative research
![Headshot of Martha.](susiarjo-martha/assets/images/martha-susiarjo.jpg)
Susiarjo, Martha
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Role of environmental exposure on maternal health during pregnancy and the potential beneficial role of nutritional supplementation.
T
![Juilee Thakar](../../people/faculty/thakar_juilee/assets/images/thakar.jpg)
Thakar, Juilee
Associate Professor for the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Biomedical Genetics, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology
- Office Location
- 3-9611 Kornberg Medical Research Building
- Telephone
- (585) 276-6925
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Bioinformatics; Systems biology; Dynamic Modeling Tools
![David Topham](../../people/faculty/topham_david/assets/images/topham.jpg)
Topham, David
Professor of Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology (SMD) Primary
- Office Location
- 3-9631 Kornberg Medical Research Building
- Telephone
- (585) 273-1403
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Virus infections of the respiratory tract; Influenza and immunity
U
![Profile Photo](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/uy_albert/assets/images/uy.jpeg)
Uy, J. Albert C.
Professor and Chair
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
Undergraduate Unpaid Interns (or BIOL 395s)
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 450 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 273-1309
- al.uy@rochester.edu
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Evolutionary Ecology; Behavioral Ecology; Evolutionary Genetics; Speciation; Conservation
V
![Headshot of Paula.](vertino-paula/assets/images/paula-m-vertino.jpg)
Vertino, Paula
Professor, Department of Biomedical Genetics, Wilmot Distinguished Professorship in Cancer Genomics - Cancer Center, Senior Associate Dean, Basic Research - Dean's Office M&D - Administration, Professor - Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Areas of cancer epigenetics and novel mechanisms of gene silencing in cancer.
W
![Michael Welte](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/welte_michael/assets/images/welte_2024.jpeg)
Welte, Michael
he/him/his
Professor
Research Active
Now accepting:
PhD students
Please email with inquiries.
Undergraduate researchers
Please email with inquiries.
- Office Location
- 317 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 276-3897
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Cell and developmental biology; Intracellular trafficking of proteins, RNAs, and organelles; Regulation of motor-driven transport; Cell biology of lipid droplets; Lipid droplets in protein sequestration and innate immunity
![John H. Werren](https://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/emeritus/werren_john/assets/images/werren.jpg)
Werren, John H.
Nathaniel and Helen Wisch Professor Emeritus of Biology
Research Professor
- Office Location
- 306 Hutchison
- Telephone
- (585) 275-3694
Interests: Evolutionary genetics, genomics, and proteomics. The unifying theme is how interacting elements shape systems at different levels of biological organization. A current research project focuses on combining computational and molecular evolutionary approaches to investigate protein function and protein-protein interactions relevant to biology and disease. Other research topics include the genetics of speciation, nuclear-mitochondrial coevolution, microbe-host interactions, and parasitism across biological levels.
X
![Headshot of Lianping.](xing-lianping/assets/images/lianping-xing.jpg)
Xing, Lianping
Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Regulation of bone cell function in inflammatory bone loss using combinations of genetically modified animals, in vivo imaging technologies, histology and in vitro cellular and molecular approaches.
Z
![Martin Zand](../../people/faculty/zand_martin/assets/images/zand.jpg)
Zand, Martin
Professor of Department of Medicine, Nephrology (SMD) Primary
Senior Associate Dean, Clinical Research, Department of Dean's Office M&D - Administration
- Office Location
- 601 Elmwood Ave.
- Telephone
- (585) 275-7753
- Web Address
- Website
Interests: Organ transplantation; B cell immunobiology, vaccine biology, and computational modeling of immune responses