Faculty members of the Center for Stem Cell Biology (CSCB) work on a broad range of topics in stem cell research that includes developmental studies in model organisms, the directed differentiation of stem cells, mechanisms of self-renewal, pluripotency and reprogramming, the relationship of stem cells and cancer, small molecule approaches, and the use of stem cells as a model of human disease. In addition, a close collaboration between the CSCB and Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering aims at realizing the potential of stem cells for the next generation of cell-based therapies.
Select from the list below to learn more about our members.
Executive Committee
Lorenz P. Studer, MD
Director, Center for Stem Cell Biology
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, stem cells as a model of development and disease, stem cell transplantation in neural disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, development of HTS assays in stem cell biology
Robert Benezra, PhD
Cancer Biology and Genetics Program
Research interests: Study of the role of Id proteins in the maintenance of embryonic and adult stem cells
Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Morphogenesis of the early mammalian embryo, embryonic stem and progenitor cells, tools and methods for in vivo imaging
Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD
Director, Center for Cell Engineering
Molecular Pharmacology Program
Research interests: Genetic engineering, lentiviral-mediated gene transfer, transgene regulation, beta-thalassemia, investigating control of transgene expression in vivo in hematopoietic stem cells and how to augment immune responses against tumor cells
Faculty
Mary Baylies, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Stem cell derived skeletal muscle and muscle biology
Robert Benezra, PhD
Cancer Biology and Genetics Program
Research interests: Study of the role of Id proteins in the maintenance of embryonic and adult stem cells
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Genetic fate mapping and synthetic models of cellular development
Robert J. Downey, MD
Department of Surgery
Research interests: Role of stem cells in the development of cancer, the potential role of stem cells derived from bone marrow in the development of epithelial cancers
Lydia Finley, PhD
Cell Biology Program
Research interests: The reciprocal regulation of metabolic pathways and stem cell fate decisions
Karuna Ganesh, MD, PhD
Molecular Pharmacology Program
Department of Medicine
Research interests: Metastatic stem cells and regenerative plasticity in cancer
Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Morphogenesis of the early mammalian embryo, embryonic stem and progenitor cells, tools and methods for in vivo imaging
Danwei Huangfu, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, genetic lineage programming and reprogramming, pancreatic development and precursor cell biology
Maria Jasin, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research Interests: Mechanisms of DNA repair and homologous recombination, genetic engineering of somatic and stem cell populations, germ-line recombination in mouse
Alexandra L. Joyner, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Mechanisms of cerebellar development, SHH signaling, adult neural stem cell biology
Michael Kharas, PhD
Molecular Pharmacology Program
Role of RNA regulatory molecules such as Musashi-2 in normal and leukemic hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), identification of factors that control HSC self-renewal and differentiation
Eric Lai, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research Interests: MicroRNA biology, the role of notch and miRNAs in developmental patterning and in neural stem cell populations
Developmental Biology Program
Research Interests: Regulation of stem cell fate, potency, and plasticity in lung regeneration and disease
Joan Massagué, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Director, Sloan Kettering Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Research interests: Role of TGF-beta signaling, cancer stem cells, metastatic behavior
Christine Mayr, MD, PhD
Cancer Biology and Genetics Program
Research interests: Functional role and regulation of alternative polyadenylation during ES cell differentiation into different cell types
Alban Ordureau, PhD
Cell Biology Program
Research interests: Interpreting the machinery and mechanisms that organize cellular proteomes, focusing on the ubiquitin and autophagy systems in the context of neuronal cellular differentiation
Richard J. O’Reilly, MD
Department of Pediatrics
Immunology Program
Research interests: Bone marrow transplantation, hematopoietic stem cells and transplantation therapy with particular focus on pediatric patients
Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD
Director, Center for Cell Engineering
Molecular Pharmacology Program
Research interests: Genetic engineering, lentiviral-mediated gene transfer, transgene regulation, beta-thalessemia, investigating control of transgene expression in vivo in hematopoietic stem cells and how to augment immune responses against tumor cells
Agnel Sfeir, PhD
Molecular Biology Program
Research interests: Investigating telomere maintenance and telomerase regulation in pluripotent cells
Lorenz P. Studer, MD
Director, Center for Stem Cell Biology
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, stem cells as a model of development and disease, stem cell transplantation in neural disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, development of HTS assays in stem cell biology
Viviane S. Tabar, MD
Department of Neurosurgery
Research interests: Neural and embryonic stem cells in brain repair following injury or disease, disease areas, Parkinson’s disease and ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), radiation injury to the brain, cancer stem cells, glioma biology and tumor angiogenesis
Research interests: Understanding and manipulating tumor cell heterogeneity. Defining the pathways that maintain stem-like behaviors in tumors
Thomas Vierbuchen, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Modeling neural development using directed differentiation of mouse and human pluripotent stem cells, functional dissection of gene regulatory networks controlling neural tube patterning and neuronal differentiation, developing new in vitro models to understand pathogenesis of human neurological disorders
Hans-Guido Wendel, MD
Cancer Biology and Genetics Program
Research interests: Stem cell based tumor models, iPSC-derived tissue and the risk of cancer, generation of safe iPSC cells
Richard Mark White, MD, PhD
Cancer Biology and Genetics Program
Research interests: Modeling specification of neural crest lineages and melanoma biology in the zebrafish
Ting Zhou, PhD
Developmental Biology Program
Research interests: Human pluripotent stem cell biology and technology. Derivation, directed differentiation and genetic manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells. Cell based chemical and genetic screen and human pluripotent based disease modeling