Premios y honores

Dr. LaFave receives two lung cancer foundation grants from the A Breath of Hope Foundation and the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. 

Dr. LaFave has been awarded two foundation grants and a special award to support lung cancer research projects in her lab. In the A Breath of Hope Peg’s Fight for Life grant, Dr. LaFave and her team will investigate differences in immunotherapy responses in KRAS and EGFR mutant lung tumors using genetically engineered mouse models and patient samples. This study will determine why EGFR mutant lung tumors are less responsive to immunotherapy than KRAS mutant tumors. Dr. LaFave received a second foundation grant from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) to investigate how chromatin state impacts immunity in lung tumors that arise in individuals with and without a smoking history. This research aims to identify the key chromatin regulators that impact immunity in smokers and never smokers and will provide insight to improve treatment approaches for lung cancer. For her LCRF proposal, Dr. LaFave was also awarded the prestigious William C. Rippe award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer. This award is given to the investigator “whose proposal not only demonstrated exceptional scientific merit but also exemplified an enduring commitment to making an impact in the field of lung cancer research”.

Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso, Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research and Professor of Cell Biology and Oncology is recognized by an award from the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center. During a recent visit to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to Deliver a Cancer Center Symposium Series Seminar on "Mechanisms of Cancer Dormancy and Reactivation" Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso was awarded a “Cancer Warrior Award” in recognition for “his outstanding contributions and achievements in cancer research and for his devotion to training future cancer warriors”. The Award was delivered by Dr. James DeGregori who is Deputy Director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics (faculty since 1997) and holds the Courtenay and Lucy Patten Davis Endowed Chair in Lung Cancer Research.

Dr. Pamela Stanley is an editor and senior author of 8 chapters in the textbook “Essentials of Glycobiology” published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press in 2022, now in its 4th edition. The group of editors and authors of all 4 editions of EoG received the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Glycobiology at its annual meeting on Amelia Island, Florida in November 2024. The award is for service to the scientific community in general, and in particular to the community of glycobiologists, for providing a comprehensive textbook which is freely available online at NCBI books upon publication. All proceeds from sales of the print version of the textbook go to a non-profit established by the group of editors to support the publication of next editions of the book. Pamela Stanley was recently elected President of the Consortium of Glycobiology Editors (CGE).

Dr. Nandakumar receives a prestigious research grant from the Edward P. Evans Foundation!

Dr. Nandakumar has been awarded the prestigious Edward P. Evans Foundation Discovery Research Grant to support his research on germline predisposition to clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and its progression to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Over the next three years, his team will utilize multiplex genome editing technologies in human hematopoietic stem cells to test hundreds of germline somatic mutation combinations and identify critical gene interactions that underlie formation of premalignant stem cell clones. The studies will examine how these premalignant clones are transformed into MDS cancer stem cells that stop producing red blood cells which is a serious problem for MDS patients. Knowledge gained from this research could enable the development of new treatments that target CH clones and prevent MDS development.

Dr. Marianovich receives her first NIH R01!

Dr. Maria Marianovich, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology, was awarded a five-year, $3 million R01 grant from the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the effects of aging on hematopoiesis. Using novel genetic models and sophisticated bone marrow imaging methodologies, Dr. Marianovich and her team will investigate how the autonomic nervous system controls components of the hematopoietic stem cell niche in the bone marrow to regulate aging of the blood system. The overall goal of this study is to identify new mechanisms of hematopoietic aging that can be targeted for the development of rejuvenation therapies.
 

Dr. Kristy Stengel receives her first NIH R01!

RUNX1 is a critical regulator of gene expression programs driving hematopoietic development. Consistently, germline loss-of-function RUNX1 mutations in people are associated with a familial platelet disorder that predisposes individuals to the development of myeloid malignancy (RUNX1-FPDMM). Therefore, detailed mechanisms of RUNX1-mediated gene regulation will greatly improve our understanding of both blood development and hematopathology. Kristy Stengel, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, was recently awarded a 4-year R01 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to use novel strategies of rapid RUNX1 protein degradation to define the kinetic features of RUNX1 activity throughout hematopoietic development. These studies will lead to a better understanding of how RUNX1 alters gene expression networks to drive cell fate decisions.

In a remarkable achievement that reflects her outstanding accomplishments as a physician scientist, Dr. Kira Gritsman, co-leader of the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center Stem Cell & Cancer Biology Program and recently named Betty and Sheldon Feinberg Senior Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research, has been elected as an Active Member of The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) for the year 2024. This news comes as part of the ASCI's announcement, where 100 Active and International members were elected to represent academic excellence across 50 different institutions. This recognition underscores Dr. Gritsman's significant contributions to academic medicine, making her a source of pride for Einstein's Cell Biology department. Dr. Gritsman will officially join this esteemed group at the ASCI Dinner and New Member Induction Ceremony on April 5, 2024, during the AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting at the Swissotel Chicago. ASCI, established in 1908, is one of the oldest and most respected medical honor societies in the United States. Congratulations, Dr. Gritsman!

Richard N. Kitsis, M.D., Awarded Schottenstein Prize from The Ohio State University

Cell biologist and cardiac researcher Richard N. Kitsis, M.D., has been selected to receive the 2023 Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Prize in Cardiovascular Sciences of The Ohio State University in recognition of his “extraordinary and sustained contributions” to cardiovascular research. Dr. Kitsis, who is professor of medicine and of cell biology, the Dr. Gerald and Myra Dorros chair in cardiovascular disease, and director of the Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute at Einstein, will receive the prize and a $100,000 honorarium at a ceremony on November 14 at the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio.

Congratulations to Dr. Lindsay LaFave for receiving 3 top awards in a row!

Since midsummer Dr. LaFave has been honored with a remarkable number of prestigious awards and grants: MECCC’s Dempsey Scholar Award, AACR Career Development Award in Lung Cancer Research, and the V Foundation's 2023 V Scholar Program. Dr. LaFave’s research program aims to elucidate the mechanisms of lung cancer progression by characterizing cellular diversity and plasticity based on the dynamic changes in the epigenetic landscape.

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Coleman for a prestigious Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant! This 2-year award will fund a team of Einstein researchers led by Dr. Rob Coleman that includes Dr. Louis Hodgson in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Dr. Vlad Verkhusha in the Department of Genetics. The Einstein team will be a part of an international consortium of research groups that will be examining Metabolism Across Different Scales. The Einstein team will develop optogenetic tools and metabolite biosensors that provide new insights into dynamic gene expression mechanisms controlling key cellular events, including circadian rhythm. More information about the award and other related funded projects can be found here.

Congratulations to Dr. Ulrich Steidl on receiving the Edward P. Evans Endowed Professorship for Myelodysplastic Syndromes!
 

This highly prestigious testament of excellence honors Uli’s vision for and most successful implementation of highly collaborative studies of myeloid malignancies at Einstein.

This is a new endowed professorship for Einstein and the eighth for faculty within our department. It was newly established here at Einstein by the Edward P. Evans Foundation , a philanthropic leader in supporting transformational and collaborative biomedical research in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS).

Dr. Britta Will has been named as the new Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Scholar in Cancer Research. This endowed professorship was first established by the late long-time Einstein research supporters and Board members Mr. and Mrs. Belfer in 1998. It supports innovative basi c and translational cancer research, and honors key contributions Britta and her team have been making to aid in understanding and targeting of leukemic stem cells in myeloid malignancies. Congratulations to Britta and the Will lab!

Congratulations to Dr. Barbara Birshtein on her receiving the 2018 Basic Science Faculty Mentoring Award! This is truly a well-deserved recognition, the latest in a long list of distinctions that Barbara has received in her career. The Ceremony will be held on December 19 at 4:30 PM in Price, please join us to celebrate with Barbara.

Dr. Margaret Kielian, a leading expert in viral infection mechanisms, is the recipient of the 2019 Marshall S. Horwitz, M.D. Faculty Prize for Research Excellence. The community-wide ceremony will be held in Robbins Auditorium on Monday, March 11, 2019, at 4 p.m. The award presentation and lecture will be followed by a reception. Please join Dr. Kielian as she shares some of the most exciting findings on how alphaviruses and flaviviruses enter and exit the host cell. Her lecture is entitled: How Viruses Infect a Cell: Structure, Function and Inhibition of Virus Membrane Fusion Proteins. Congratulations, Dr. Kielian!

Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Scharff on the occasion of his 90th Birthday Year!
The Department of Cell Biology is pleased to honor Dr. Scharff with this tribute video celebrating his outstanding career. It consists of contributions from some of Dr. Scharff’s Einstein colleagues and former trainees. Please view the video here: https://youtu.be/-oqTxFxlne0

Dr. Singer received the Lewis S. Rosenstiel award at Brandeis University on April 6th. More info on the award and the star-studded list of past awardees can be found at: https://www.brandeis.edu/rosenstiel/rosenstiel-award/. His acceptance talk can be seen at https://ensemble.brandeis.edu/Watch/o3MEz42L.

On 5/6/2015, Dr. Pamela Stanley gave a lecture in the NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS), which is the highest-profile lecture program at the NIH. Her lecture was entitled “ Glycans that regulate development and Notch signaling”.

Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, Ph.D. , is the new Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research. Julio is an international leader in cancer cell dormancy and metastasis and has helped lead a major shift in the cancer biology field by investigating how cancer cells hibernate, undetected, for long periods of time and what causes them to suddenly awaken to seed deadly, treatment-resistant metastases. His work is revealing ways to maintain residual cancer-cell dormancy, kill dormant cancer cells, and identify biomarkers for cancer recurrence. Julio is co-leader of the Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis Program and founding director of the Cancer Dormancy and Tumor Microenvironment Institute at the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC), as well as professor of cell biology, of oncology, and of medicine.

Dr. Carl Schildkraut, a longtime member of the Cell Biology Department and a world-renowned expert in DNA replication, is the recipient of the 2018 Marshall S. Horwitz, M.D. Faculty Prize for Research Excellence. On Monday, March 12, Dr. Schildkraut will share some highlights from his exceptionally productive career in his award lecture. The award presentation, lecture, and the post-award reception will be held at Robbins Auditorium starting at 4 pm.

Congratulations to Dr. Kristy Stengel on receiving the RUNX1 Early Career Investigator grant! This is a 3-year award designed to fund research leading to the development of therapies for patients with RUNX1-FPD. Loss-of-function and dominant negative germline mutations in RUNX1 cause familial platelet disorder with a predisposition to myeloid malignancy (RUNX1-FPDMM), yet the mechanism by which these mutations alter hematopoiesis and what events cooperate with germline RUNX1 mutation to drive progression to AML remain poorly defined. The funded project will use targeted protein degradation to identify RUNX1 functions relevant to RUNX1-FPD. In particular, the proposed studies aim to define RUNX1 gene expression networks, to determine the mechanism of RUNX1-mediated gene regulation at critical targets, and to determine the contribution of RUNX1-related DNA damage responses to RUNX1-FPD.

The Department of Cell Biology would like to congratulate Dr. Arthur Skoultchi, Chairman of the Department, who is the recipient of the 2015 Faculty Mentoring Award. The ceremony will be held at 4:30PM, December 10, 2015, in Lubin Dining Hall.