Yumi Kim

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D., UC San Diego 2009

B.S., Seoul National University 2003

I'm interested in how mitotic kinesin CENP-E contributes to kinetochore attachment to dynamic (growing and shrinking) spindle microtubules and powers chromosome motion during mitosis.

Anita Kulukian

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D., U.C. San Diego, 2008

B.S., U.C. Berkeley, 1999

I am reconstructing aspects of mitotic checkpoint signaling in vitro to understand the mechanism by which unattached kinetochores activate the mitotic checkpoint to inhibit APC/C ubiquitination activity.

Cecilia Krona

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D. University of Gothenburg, 2006

M.S. University of Gothenburg, 2000

The first goal of my project is to determine the cellular function of the centromere binding protein, CENP-S (a.k.a. APITD1) and its possible role in tumorigenesis. I use tandem-affinity purification to identify CENP-S interacting proteins and proximity ligation to visualize endogenous protein complexes in situ. The second goal is to explore the possibility of using antisense oligonucleotide targeting of mitotic checkpoint proteins as a therapy for nervous system tumors, including glioblastomas, neuroblastomas and medulloblastomas.

Andrew Holland

Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD, The University of Manchester, UK, 2006

MRes, The University of Manchester, UK, 2003

MA, The University of Cambridge, UK, 2002

I am investigating the mechanisms that ensure the faithful partitioning of the chromosomes between the two daughter cells and the consequences, both at the level of the cell and the organism, that mistakes in chromosome segregation may have.

Weijie Lan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2006

B.S., Wuhan University, 1997

Errors in chromosomes segregation cause genomic instability that leads to cell death or diseases including cancer. I am interested in dissecting the molecular structures (such as kinetochore and centromere) that mediate chromosome segregation, and elucidating the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) signaling mechanisms that prevent chromosome mis-segregation.

Andreea Radulescu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2006

B.A. Hunter College of CUNY, 1998

The large 240kDa Nuclear Mitotic Apparatus (NuMA) protein is very abundant and in mitosis has been shown to be involved in tethering spindle microtubules to the poles. In addition, it localizes to the nuclei of interphase cells and remains a component there (i.e. in neurons) years after the final mitosis and terminal differentiation of these cells. With a large coiled coil domain strongly suggestive of assembly into filaments, NuMA is among the best candidates for a nuclear structural component. Nevertheless, NuMA’s role(s) in terminally differentiated, post-mitotic nuclei has not been established. The overall aim of this project is to experimentally ascertain the role(s) NuMA plays in the architecture of terminally differentiated, post-mitotic nuclei.

Samantha Zeitlin

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D. The Scripps Research Institute, 2002

B.S., University of Pennsylvania, 1997

I am testing the hypothesis that centromeres are specified by an endogenous DNA damage mechanism, similar to what happens during class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation at Ig regions in B cells to generate antibodies. In support of this model, I found that the centromeric histone H3 variant CENP-A is rapidly deposited at double-strand breaks induced in vivo by endonuclease cleavage, as well as sites of damage created using a pulsed multiphoton laser. I am using a multidisciplinary approach combining cell biology, biochemistry, and biophysical methods to examine the functions of CENP-A in DNA repair, and how this relates to the epigenetic model for the essential role of CENP-A in centromere formation and maintenance.

Undergraduate Assistants

Jae Chung

Sharleen Bhardwaj

Sandra Lee

Ngoc Bui

Seiya Tokunaga

Anne Vetto

Kanvar Panesar

Nina Xue

Yin Wang

Research Staff

Ph.D., University of Arizona, 1997

I am part of the research effort to understand the contribution of aneuploidy to tumorigenesis.

Benjamin Vitre
Postdoctoral Fellow 
Ph.D. 2008 University of Rennes
M.S. 2005 University of Rennes 
I am interested in investigating how the microtubule cytoskeleton interacts with kinetochore proteins to allow chromosome segregation. I am also focusing my research on the links between cancer development and mitotic spindle dysfunction due to defective microtubule kinetochore-interaction or abnormal centrosome number.