Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Molecular and Cellular Biology Primary Faculty

Master
Description

Investigators below have their main faculty appointments within the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine.

Terms

Margaret A. Goodell, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor and Chair
Mechanisms that regulate normal and malignant hematopoiesis, particularly with regard to DNA methylation
goodell@bcm.edu
Margaret Goodell Lab

Rachel Arey, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of learning, memory, and complex behaviors. Molecular genetic analysis of genes involved in age-related cognitive decline
rachel.arey@bcm.edu
Rachel Arey Lab

Blair Benham-Pyle, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor 
The Benham-Pyle lab uses the highly regenerative flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea to study stem cells, whole-body regeneration, and cancer prevention. 
blair.benham-pyle@bcm.edu

Andre Catic, M.D., Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
How protein quality control impacts transcription, translation, and metabolism with relevance to aging and cancer
catic@bcm.edu
Andre Catic Lab

Eric Chang, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor 
Translational research on how estrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells acquire treatment resistance and turn metastatic
echang1@bcm.edu
Eric Chang Lab

Xi Chen, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Function and mechanism of Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) protein quality control machinery in cancer progression, metastasis and therapy resistance
xi.chen@bcm.edu

Cristian Coarfa, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Achieving biological insight via integrative analysis, interpretation, and visualization of large scale multi-omics datasets, and enabling of scientific advancements via collaborative tools and computing platforms
coarfa@bcm.edu

Clifford Dacso, M.D.

Item Definition

Professor
Clinical metabolomics, biosensors
cdacso@bcm.edu

Alan Davis, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Characterizing a new stem-like cell in bone that immediately proceeds the chondro-osseous progenitor that becomes both chondrocytes and osteoblasts
ardavis@bcm.edu
Alan Davis Lab

Bruno Di Stefano, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Understanding the post-transcriptional & epigenetic mechanisms that govern stem cell potency and cell fate decisions
bruno.distefano@bcm.edu

Kyle Eagen, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of DNA folding with a focus on how linear patterns of histone modifications impact three-dimensional chromosome structure
kyle.eagen@bcm.edu
Kyle Eagen Lab

Dean Edwards, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor
Mechanism of action and structure analysis of steroid hormone receptors and role of progesterone receptors in mammary gland and breast cancer
deane@bcm.edu
ATC Core Labs

Richard Finnell, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor
In vivo and in vitro multi-dimensional models of neural tube closure defects and whole genome investigations of complex human birth defects
finnell@bcm.edu
Richard Finnell Lab

Daniel Gorelick, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
How environmental endocrine disrupting compounds, toxicants and pharmaceuticals influence embryonic development and cause congenital anomalies
gorelick@bcm.edu
Dan Gorelick Lab

Sang Han, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Molecular mechanism of nuclear receptors and nuclear receptor coactivators in female reproductive diseases progression
sjhan@bcm.edu

H. Courtney Hodges, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Mechanisms of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling and transcription regulation. 3D models of cancer. Systems biology of SWI/SNF complexes.
chodges@bcm.edu
H. Courtney Hodges Lab

Pengxiang Huang, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Role of lipids and mechanisms of signal transduction in the Hedgehog and Wnt pathways
pengxiang.huang@bcm.edu

William Hudson Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Understanding the causes of T cell dysfunction in order to develop new immunotherapies for cancer and other diseases
william.hudson@bcm.edu

Jason Lee, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Mechanisms and functions of contact sites between membrane-bound organelles and membrane-less organelles
Jason.Lee2@bcm.edu

Yi Li, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of breast cancer initiation, progression and metastasis and cancer stem cells
liyi@bcm.edu
Yi Li Lab

David Lonard, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Role of steroid receptor coactivators in the regulation of transcription and to develop inhibitors to target them
dlonard@bcm.edu

John Lydon, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Cellular and molecular mechanisms that enable embryo implantation into the endometrium to establish a pregnancy
jlydon@bcm.edu

Michael Mancini, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor and Core Director
Image-based single cell approaches to study ER/AR-mediated transcription by high content analysis (HCA) using numerous state-of-the-art platforms
mancini@bcm.edu

Shailaja Mani, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Molecular mechanisms of steroid hormone action in brain function. Sex differences in stress neurobiology using omics approaches and mouse models.
smani@bcm.edu
Shailaja Mani Lab

Sean McGuire, M.D., Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
sean.mcguire@bcm.edu

Neil McKenna, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor 
Applying biocuration to archived 'omics datasets to mechanize cellular signaling pathways
nmckenna@bcm.edu

Anthony Means, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Bert O'Malley, M.D.

Item Definition

TC Thompson Professor and Chancellor
Hormone action; receptor coactivators; 3-D structures of NR-CoA complexes; CoAs in metabolic, CVS, oncogenic diseases; CoAs as therapeutic targets
berto@bcm.edu

Ronald Parchem, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Stem cells and regenerative medicine; role of miRNAs in development and disease; environmental and genetic causes of birth defects
ronald.parchem@bcm.edu

Frederick Pereira, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Understanding human auditory and neuronal function disorders; developing pharmacologic, gene or cell-based therapies relevant to aging and cancer
fpereira@bcm.edu

Nagireddy Putluri, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Metabolomic profiling of tumors to obtain biochemical insights into cancer progression
putluri@bcm.edu
Nagireddy Putluri Lab

Joshua Riback, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Biophysics of biological condensates; Role of condensates in forming RNP-complexes and reorganizing the cell in response to diverse stimuli
joshua.riback@bcm.edu

Joanne Richards, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor
Molecular mechanisms by which key signaling pathways regulate ovarian cell gene expression and alter cell fate decisions
joanner@bcm.edu

Kevin Roarty, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Wnt pathway biology; mammary development; breast cancer heterogeneity and plasticity; collective migration; mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis
roarty@bcm.edu
Kevin Roarty Lab

Jeffrey Rosen, Ph.D.

Item Definition

C.C. Bell Distinguished Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Mammary gland development and breast cancer; Wnt and Fgf; translational regulation; immune microenvironment; epigenetic reprogramming of EMT
jrosen@bcm.edu
Jeffrey Rosen Lab

David Rowley, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor
Role of mesenchymal stem cells in the reactive stroma tumor microenvironment; osteogenic niche and progression of cancer to therapeutic resistance
drowley@bcm.edu

Carolyn Smith, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor and Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Negative regulation of estrogen receptor function; ER and coactivator interactions; breast and bladder cancer; graduate education
carolyns@bcm.edu

Arun Sreekumar, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor
Metabolic re-wiring associated with prostate and breast cancer progression as well as in cancer health disparities
sreekuma@bcm.edu
Arun Sreekumar Lab

Zheng Sun, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Associate Professor
Neuroendocrine regulation of metabolism; epigenome and circadian clock in neurocognition; exercise, diet, and toxins in resilience
zheng.sun@bcm.edu
Zheng Sun Lab

Jeanine Van Nostrand, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Role of metabolic checkpoints triggered by AMPK and mTORC1 signaling in cancer and metabolic disease
jeanine.vannostrand@bcm.edu

Cheryl Walker, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor and Director, Center for Precision Environmental Health
Role of gene environment interactions in diseases such as cancer, fibroids and NAFLD. Effects of early environmental exposures on the epigenome
cheryl.walker@bcm.edu
Cheryl Walker Lab

Margot Williams, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of vertebrate embryogenesis using genetic, live imaging, and synthetic embryology approaches in zebrafish
Margot.Williams@BCM.edu
Margot Williams Lab

Jianming Xu, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Gordon Cain Endowed Professorship in Cell Biology
Cell signaling and gene regulation mechanisms. Molecular and Cellular biology of steroid hormone promoted cancers. Gene editing in cells and mice
jxu@bcm.edu

Xiang Zhang, Ph.D.

Item Definition

Professor and William T. Butler M.D. Endowed Chair
Breast cancer metastasis, bone microenvironment and metastasis, tumor immune microenvironment, resistance to immunotherapies, novel precision therapies
xiangz@bcm.edu
Xiang Zhang Lab