Molecular Pharmacology Program

The Michael Kharas Lab

Michael G. Kharas, PhD

The Kharas lab is working to identify critical pathways in both normal and leukemic hematopoietic cells.

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Go inside the lab of Michael Kharas from SKI’s Molecular Pharmacology Program.

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Featured News

In the Lab

Illustration of a fish inside a bubble-like structure. The fish has strands of genetic material coming from its mouth. Outside the bubble is a worm-like creature with an open mouth, ready to gobble up the fish.

Researchers Discover New Cancer Cell Vulnerability: Droplets in the Nucleus

SKI researchers have learned how tiny droplets prevent a cancer-causing type of messenger RNA from being degraded in leukemia cells.

In the Lab

Fructose Could Play a Role in Targeting Leukemia

Leukemia cells metabolize fructose in a way that could make them easier to target with drugs.

In the Lab

An illustration of a samurai riding a horse along a strand of RNA. The samurai’s sword is changing the letter A to the letter I.

Novel Tool Enables Study of Rare Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells

MSK investigators have used a lab tool originally developed to study fly nerve cells to uncover new findings about acute myeloid leukemia.

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Publications Highlights

Dual IKZF2 and CK1α degrader targets acute myeloid leukemia cells. Park SM, Miyamoto DK, Han GYQ, Chan M, Curnutt NM, Tran NL, Velleca A, Kim JH, Schurer A, Chang K, Xu W, Kharas MG, Woo CM. Cancer Cell. 2023 Apr 10;41(4):726-739.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.02.010. Epub 2023 Mar 9. PMID: 36898380.

Serine synthesis pathway flux is essential for acute myeloid leukemia cells to proliferate in fructose-rich conditions. Jeong S, Savino AM, Chirayil R, Cheng Y, Barin E, Park SM, Schurer A, Mullarky E, Cantley LC, Kharas MG*, Keshari KR*. Cell Metab. 5 January 2021, Pages 145-159.

TP53 mutations and RNA binding protein MUSASHI2 drive resistance to PRMT5-targeted therapy in B-cell lymphoma. Erazo T, Evans CM, Zakheim D, Chu KL, Refermat AY, Asgari Z, Yang Z, Ferreira MD, Mehta S, Russo MV, Knezevic A, Zhang XP, Chen Z, Fennell M, Garippa R, Seshan V, de Stanchina E, Barbash O, Batlevi CL, Melnick AM, Younes A*, Kharas MG*. Nat Comm 2022 September 27. 13(5626).

N6-methyladenosine on mRNA facilitates a phase-separated nuclear body that suppresses myeloid leukemic differentiation. Cheng Y*, Xie W*, Pickering BF, Chu KL, Savino AM, Yang X, Luo H, Nguyen DTT, Mo S, Barin E, Velleca A, Rohwetter T, Patel DJ, Jaffrey SR, Kharas MG*. Cancer Cell. July 2021.

Transcriptional control of CBX5 by the RNA binding proteins RBMX/L1 maintain chromatin state in myeloid leukemia. Prieto C, Nguyen DTT, Liu Z,Wheat J, Perez A, Gourkanti S, Chou T, Barin E, Velleca A, Rohwetter T, Barin E, Chow A, Taggart J, Hoskova K, Dhodapkar M, Schurer A, Barlowe TS, Vu LP, Leslie C, Steidl U, Rabadan R, Kharas MG*. Nat Cancer. July 2021. 5: 741-757.

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People

Michael G. Kharas, PhD

Cancer biologist Michael Kharas studies RNA regulators of self-renewal in both normal and leukemic hematopoiesis.
PhD, University of California Irvine

[email protected]: Email Address

Members

Takeshi Irie
Assistant Attending, Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Laura Wilson
Senior SKI Administrative Assistant

Emily Batchelor

Research Technician

Michael Kharas, PhD — Michael Kharas
Member

Wei Wei

Fellow, Graduate Medical Education

Xueqin Xie
Research Scholar - NYSTEM Training Award at the CSCB

Lab Alumni

Cynthia Almonte
Administrative Assistant

Elianna Amin

Research Fellow

Ersilia Barin
Graduate Student at Weill Cornell

Trevor Barlowe

Research Technician

Mandy Chan

Research Technician

Aaron Chang

Graduate Student

Pooja Desai

Lab Intern

Gerard Minuesa Dinares , PhD — Gerard Minuesa Dinares
Biotech

Kim Do
Technician, Ly Vu Lab, BC Cancer Agency

Saroj Gourkanti
Graduate Student at University of California, San Diego

Grace Han

Research Technician

Florisela Herrejon Chavez
Research Fellow, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Portland, OR

Ming Jiang

Graduate Student

Rachel Okabe

Lab Intern

Alex Schurer
Medical Student at Albert Einstein

James Taggart

Research Technician

Ly Vu
Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Career Development Award (2017)
Alex Lemonade Stand Foundation ‘A’ Award (2016)
American Society of Hematology Junior Faculty Scholar Award (2011)
Kimmel Scholar Award (2013)
V-Scholar Award (2013)

Open Positions

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To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs

Career Opportunities

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Research Technician

As a Research Technician you will perform research activities in collaboration with internal/external personnel to complete science-based projects. You will normally receive detailed instructions while making observations, analyzing data and interpreting results according to laboratory procedures. The Research Technician will provide support to all technical/research staff and postdocs.

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Get in Touch

[email protected]

Lab Head Email
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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Michael G. Kharas discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

858 Therapeutics, Inc.
Equity; Professional Services and Activities
AstraZeneca
Professional Services and Activities

Kumquat Biosciences
Professional Services and Activities
Transition Bio, Inc.
Professional Services and Activities

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].

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