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Faculty

Cell, Molecular and Cancer Biology PhD group photo

Focused Research Groups

The Basic Mechanisms of Disease research group studies genetic and epigenetic abnormalities, which underlie many human diseases, including inherited disorders and cancer. Other diseases result from infectious agents. Understanding the biochemical, genetic, molecular and epigenetic origins of disease offers the opportunity for treatment of such diseases. Faculty in this group study the origin, etiology, progression and treatment of diseases of multiple organs.

The Cancer Cell Biology research group studies the mechanisms underlying the development of tumors, providing significant new insight to the identification and treatment of a variety of cancers. Scientists in this group range from those who study the basic processes of how cells divide to those who are actively involved in clinical trials for new cancer chemotherapeutics. This group has expertise in cancer epigenetics, cancer genomics, cancer metastasis, cancer stem cells and therapeutic development.

Many key developmental events are regulated by intercellular signaling molecules, often in the form of secreted proteins acting through cell surface receptors. Defective cell signaling is a major cause of many human cancers where overactive or unregulated signals lead to excessive cell proliferation and inappropriate cell survival. The Cell Signaling and Development research group focuses on understanding mechanisms of cell-cell signaling and development in organisms ranging from plants through invertebrates to mammals.

The regulated expression of genes is critical for normal cellular homeostasis. Defects in this process are associated with uncontrolled proliferation commonly associate with tumorigenesis. Research faculty in the Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin research group share an interest in the mechanisms governing genome organization, regulated gene expression, chromatin structure, and the fidelity of chromosome distribution during mitosis and meiosis.

Primary Faculty

38773-Carpenter, Richard

Richard L. Carpenter, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

richcarp@iu.edu

Research: Transcription factor regulation in cancer cells

Research groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease
Cancer Cell Biology
Cell Signaling and Development
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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26637-Daleke, David

David L. Daleke, PhD

Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

daleked@iu.edu

Research: Assembly and maintenance of the cell membrane

Research group: Basic Mechanisms of Disease

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26675-Hollenhorst, Peter

Peter C. Hollenhorst, PhD

Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

pchollen@iu.edu

Research: Mechanisms of transcription factor specificity in cancer

Resarch groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease
Cancer Cell Biology
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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26686-Mitra, Anirban

Anirban K. Mitra, PhD

Associate Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics

anmitra@iu.edu

Research: Regulation of ovarian cancer metastasis by reciprocal interactions with the microenvironment

Research groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease
Cancer Cell Biology
Cell Signaling and Development
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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26559-Nephew, Kenneth

Kenneth P. Nephew, PhD

Professor of Cellular and Integrative Physiology

knephew@iu.edu

Research: Cancer epigenetics/epigenomics in ovarian & breast cancer

Research groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease
Cancer Cell Biology
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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26689-O'Hagan, Heather

Heather M. O'Hagan, PhD

Associate Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics

hmohagan@iu.edu

Research: Inflammation mediated epigenetic alterations in cancer

Research groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease
Cancer Cell Biology
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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64881-Shen, Jia

Jia Shen, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics

shen17@iu.edu

Research: Cancer stem cell biology and cancer immunotherapy.

Research groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease, Cancer Cell Biology, Cell Signaling and Development, and Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin.

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26533-Walczak, Claire

Claire E. Walczak, PhD

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

cwalczak@iu.edu

Research: Mitotic spindle assembly, chromosome alignment and segregation

Research groups: Cancer Cell Biology
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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Affiliate Faculty

Photo of Manuel Baizabal

Manuel Baizabal, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biology

mbaizaba@iu.edu

Research:
Transcriptional and epigenetic control of neuronal fate-specification in the developing cortex
Evolution of transcriptional regulation in cortical neural stem cells
The role of chromatin-modifications in maintaining neuronal identity and function

Research Areas:
Chromatin, Chromosomes, and Genome Integrity
Developmental Mechanism and Regulation in Eukaryotic Systems
Genomics and Bioinformatics
Evolution

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portrait of stephen bell

Stephen Bell, PhD

Professor of Biology

stedbell@iu.edu

Research: Mechanisms and regulation of DNA replication, gene transcription and cell division

Research group: Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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portrait of matthew bochman

Matthew Bochman, PhD

Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

bochman@iu.edu

Research: Maintenance of genome integrity

Research group: Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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portait of brian calvi

Brian Calvi, PhD

Professor of Biology

bcalvi@iu.edu

Research: Cell cycle control of DNA replication and genome stability

Research groups: Cancer Cell Biology
Cell Signaling and Development
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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portrait of charles dann

Charles Dann, PhD

Associate Professor

cedann@indiana.edu

Research: Determining atomic resolution structures of RNA and protein macromolecules by X-ray crystallography

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26674-Hundley, Heather

Heather Hundley, PhD

Associate Professor of Biology

hahundle@indiana.edu

Research: Chromatin , Chromosomes, and Genome Integrity Developmental Mechanisms and Regulation in Eukaryotic Systems Genomics and Bioinformatics

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portrait of roger innes

Roger Innes, PhD

Professor of Biology

rinnes@iu.edu

Research: Molecular genetics of plant/pathogen interactions

Research group: Cell Signaling and Development

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portrait of justin kumar

Justin Kumar, PhD

Professor of Biology

jkumar@iu.edu

Research: Specification, patterning and proliferation of the developing retina

Research groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease
Cell Signaling and Development

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portrait of scott michaels

Scott Michaels, PhD

Professor of Biology

michaels@iu.edu

Research: Regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression by epigenetic modifications

Research group: Cell Signaling and Development

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portrait of Hengyao Niu, PhD

Hengyao Niu, PhD

Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

hniu@iu.edu

Research: Detection and repair of DNA breaks

Research group: Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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portrait of criag pikaard

Craig Pikaard, PhD

Professor of Biology

cpikaard@iu.edu

Research: Mechanisms of RNA-mediated gene silencing and largescale epigenetic control

Research groups: Cell Signaling and Development,
Epigenetics, Genomics and Chromatin

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portrait of sid shaw

Sid Shaw, PhD

Professor of Biology

sishaw@iu.edu

Research: Microtubule dynamics and cellular morphogenesis in Arabidopsis

Research groups: Basic Mechanisms of Disease
Cell Signaling and Development

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portrait of jason tennessen

Jason Tennessen, PhD

Associate Professor of Biology

jtenness@iu.edu

Research: Molecular mechanisms that regulate the onset of aerobic glycolysis

Research group: Cancer Cell Biology

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portrait of Dan Tracey, PhD

Dan Tracey, PhD

Professor of Biology

dtracey@iu.edu

Research: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of nociception (pain) and of touch sensation

Research group: Cell Signaling and Development

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photo of Lesley Weaver PhD

Lesley Weaver, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biology

lnweaver@iu.edu

Research Groups:
Developmental Mechanisms and Regulation in Eukaryotic Systems
Eukaryotic Cell Biology, Cytoskeleton, and Signaling

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portrait of Andrew Zelhof, PhD

Andrew Zelhof, PhD

Associate Professor of Biology

lnweaver@iu.edu

Research Groups:
Developmental Mechanisms and Regulation in Eukaryotic Systems
Eukaryotic Cell Biology, Cytoskeleton, and Signaling

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