QSB Core Faculty


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Luis A.N. Amaral

The Amaral lab conducts and directs research that provides insight into the emergence, evolution, and stability of complex social and biological systems.  His research aims to address some of the most pressing challenges facing human societies and the world's ecosystems, including the mitigation of errors in healthcare settings, the characterization of the conditions fostering innovation and creativity, or the growth limits imposed by sustainability. More Information

E-mailamaral@northwestern.edu 
Phone: 847-491-7850
Office Location: Tech E150

Bao

Xiaomin Bao

The Bao lab uses human skin as a model system to study the epigenomic regulation of progenitor maintenance and tissue differentiation. We are interested in how chromatin architecture and modifications dictate gene expression in a genome­wide scale. More Information

E-mail: xiaomin.bao@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-491-3082
Office Location: Pancoe 4413

Beitel

Greg Beitel

The Beitel lab uses ChIP­seq and RNA seq to investigate the molecular mechanisms of epithelial morphogenesis and cellular responses to elevated CO2 levels (hypercapnia). The Beitel lab is investigating forces in the morphogenesis of epithelial tubes, using the Drosophila trachea as a model system. We are developing methods to create a mathematical model of tubes from confocal images stacks, which will then be used analyse cell, junctional and protein dynamics and distributions. Image analysis and segmentation uses tools including Ilastik, Matlab and Fiji. Segmentation and image analysis code is developed in Matlab, statistical analysis using Matlab. More Information

E-mail: beitel@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-7776
Office Location: Pancoe 1407

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Rosemary Braun

The Braun Lab develops and applies powerful mathematical and computational techniques to investigate living systems at multiple scales — from the atomic level, to the gene level, to the systems level, to the tissue/organismal level, and finally to the population level — and apply these methods in close collaboration with experimentalists and clinicians to address pressing biomedical questions, from circadian disruption to cancer. More Information

E-mail: rbraun@northwestern.edu
Office Location: Pancoe 3105

 

Brickner

Jason Brickner

The Brickner lab seeks to understand the spatial arrangement of the genome inside the nucleus and how this impacts gene expression. More Information

E-mail: j-brickner@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-0210
Office Location: Cook 3115

Carthew

Richard Carthew

The Carthew lab uses systems biology to study gene expression dynamics during animal development, specifically in Drosophila. We apply high­throughput image analysis of single­ cell quantitative expression of proteins and mRNAs, coupled with ODE modeling of expression dynamics. More Information

E-mail: r-carthew@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-4891
Office Location: Pancoe 3111

Horvath

Curt Horvath

The Horvath lab uses quantitative methods to understand the molecular basis of signal transduction and gene expression in cytokine­regulated human systems including innate antiviral immune recognition and responses as well as normal and malignant control of gene expression.  More Information

E-mail: horvath@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-491-5530
Office Location: Pancoe 4401

Kelleher

Neil Kelleher

The Kelleher research group uses mass spectrometry-­based proteomics and advanced informatics to study cell fate and decision making in proliferation and cellular senescence. Further, in collaboration with dozens of other laboratories, the group advances a variety of projects in basic and translational research ­ from yeast to human patients.  More Information

E-mail: n-kelleher@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-4362
Office Location: Silverman 4605

LaBonne

Carole LaBonne

The LaBonne lab uses biochemical and computational approaches to understand the genetic and epigenetic control of the stem cell state, and the relationship of “stemness” to the capacity for invasive cell behavior. We use in vivo approaches in developing vertebrate embryos, and ex vivo analyses, to elucidate the contributions of retained cellular potential to the evolution of vertebrate animal such as humans.  More Information

E-mail: clabonne@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-491-4165
Office Location: Pancoe 3411

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Laura Lackner

In the Lackner Lab, we study how mitochondria are positioned in cells. Central to mitochondrial positioning are molecular tethers, which function to anchor mitochondria to specific cellular sites. While tethering of mitochondria is observed in cells from yeast to neurons, very little is known about this positioning mechanism. Using multidisciplinary biochemical, cytological, and genetic approaches, we are working to elucidate the molecular mechanism, regulation, and physiological significance of mitochondrial tethering. More Information

E-mail: laura.lackner@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-4490
Office Location: Pancoe 3401

John Marko

John Marko

The Marko lab studies chromosome organization and dynamics, DNA­protein interactions, DNA topology and topology control, nanonewton and piconewton force measurement.  More Information

E-mail: john-marko@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-1276
Office Location: Pancoe 4109

Morimoto

Rick Morimoto

The Morimoto lab uses the quantitative analysis of integrated cell stress responses from the single cell to organismal level to elucidate the properties and structure of stress signaling pathways and proteostasis networks that protect the proteome from damage, age­associated decline and risk for degenerative diseases.  Our work incorporates mathematical and predictive modeling, genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses and hypothesis­driven experimentation to validate network development.  More Information

E-mail: r-morimoto@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-491-3340
Office Location: Cook 3129

Petersen

Chris Petersen

The Petersen lab investigates the molecular basis for tissue regeneration and control of adult pluripotent stem cells using the planarian model system, Schmidtea mediterranea. Using next generation sequencing, high content RNAi screening and quantitative imaging, we investigate injury signaling, the re­establishment of tissue regionality, control of growth and the assembly of differentiated structures.  More Information

E-mail: christian-p-petersen@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-3553
Office Location: Pancoe 4411

Radhakrishnan

Ishwar Radhakrishnan

The Radhakrishnan lab focuses on the Sin3L/S HDAC and KAT2B HAT complexes and we are using biochemical, computational, and structural approaches including crystallography and cryoEM approaches.  More Information

E-mail: i-radharkrishnan@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-1173
Office Location: Cook 4135

Reza

Reza Vafabakhsh

The Vafabakhsh lab focuses on acquiring a quantitative mechanistic characterization of synaptic players at different length scales, from a single protein to the synapse level, to describe this complexity and towards an understanding of the molecular nature of information processing in the brain. We do so by developing quantitative biophysical and cell biology analyses using cutting edge single molecule and high throughput approaches that draw from cell biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. More Information

E-mail: reza.vafabakhsh@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-4035
Office Location: Mudd 4703

Wang

Alec Wang

The Wang lab uses genomics approaches to investigate regulatory pathways in mammalian stem cells. First, we are interested in how the nucleosome organization influences gene expression. Second, we are investigating how RNA ligases regulate cellular stress responses.  More Information

E-mail: awang@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-467-4897
Office Location: Pancoe 1405

 

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Ji-Ping Wang

My research interests are in the statistical applications in biology and medical sciences. My recent work concerns developing statistical methods and tools for large-scale, high-dimensional genomic, genetic and human brain mapping data.  More Information

E-mail: jzwang@northwestern.edu
Office Location: 2006 Sheridan Road, Room 302