Faculty

Eric Alani is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Alani is a member of both the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development and the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Alani lab studies roles for DNA mismatch repair proteins in maintaining genome stability.

Charles ("Chip") Aquadro is the Charles A. Alexander Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Population Genetics in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He is also a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, and is the Director of the Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics.
 

Daniel Barbash is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Barbash is a member of both the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development and the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Barbash lab is interested in understanding the relationship between genomic change and the creation and divergence of species.

Stéphane Bentolila is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He is associated with the Hanson lab and is interested in plant organelle gene expression, more specifically RNA editing.

Kristina Blake-Hodek is a lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, whose focus is Lectures/Lab in Genetics and Genomics (BIOMG 2800/2801) .

Jim Blankenship is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He has been and continues to be actively engaged in the Biology Curriculum and is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Biochemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology Programs of Studies.
 

Andy Clark is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Population Genetics and Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator, and Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Clark is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, the Graduate Field of Computation Biology, and the Graduate Field of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The Clark lab is focused on empirical and analytical problems associated with genetic variation in populations.

The research focus of the Crickard laboratory is to understand the mechanisms by which enzymes function to maintain genetic information stored in chromosomes. Projects in the laboratory focus on DNA strand invasion and strand exchange during the process of homologous recombination. A universally conserved pathway organisms use to maintain their chromosomes. Our laboratory uses a combination of biochemical, biophysical, and genetic approaches as we seek to develop high resolution models.

Scott D. Emr is the Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and Director of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology (Weill Institute). He received his Ph.D. degree in Molecular Genetics from Harvard Medical School in 1981. Prior to joining the faculty at Cornell, he has held positions at the California Institute of Technology (Assistant and Associate Professor; 1983-1991) and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (Distinguished Professor and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; 1991-2007).

Cedric Feschotte is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Feschotte is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development. The Feschotte lab studies mobile genetic elements, such as transposons and endogenous viruses, primarily in the genomes of vertebrates, including humans.

Thomas Fox is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Fox is a member of both the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development and the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Fox lab studied the assembly of mitochondria within eukaryotic cells, but is no longer actively engaged in experimental work.

Chris Fromme is a Professor in the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Fromme is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology and the Graduate Field of Biophysics. The Fromme lab studies how proteins and membranes are trafficked within eukaryotic cells.

Dr. Martin Graef is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development and the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Graef lab studies the molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of autophagy and cellular ageing with links to human disease. They focus on the interplay of autophagy with lipid and membrane biology, mitochondria behavior and function, and genome maintenance. To address these fundamental questions, the Graef lab uses biochemistry, state-of-the-art live cell imaging, and system-wide genetics and proteomics approaches towards building quantitative models for yeast and mammalian cells. 

Andrew Grimson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics. Dr. Grimson is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology and the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development. The Grimson lab focuses on post-transcriptional gene regulation, in particular the identity and function of animal microRNAs and other small RNAs.

Chun Han is an Associate Professor in the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Han is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology.

Maureen R. Hanson is Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics. Dr. Hanson is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, and the Graduate Field of Plant Biology. The Hanson lab studies gene expression in plant chloroplasts and mitochondria, as well as pathophysiology of the human illness Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Susan Henry is the Ronald P. Lynch Dean Emerita of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Henry is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, the Graduate Field of Food Science and Technology, and the Graduate Field of Nutrition. The Henry lab studies genetic regulation of lipid metabolism in yeast.

Fenghua Hu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and is a member of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology (Weill Institute). She received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Peking University in China in 1997 and her Ph.D. from Baylor College of Medicine in 2002. She did her postdoctoral training at Yale University. She is presently a member of the graduate Fields of Biochemistry, Molecular, and Cell Biology (BMCB), Genetics, Genomics and Development (GGD), and Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS).
 

Tim Huffaker is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Huffaker is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, and the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Huffaker lab studies the molecular function of proteins involved in mitotic spindle function in yeast.

Stephen Jesch is a Senior lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics.  He teaches an upper level course in biochemistry and molecular biology.
 

Ailong Ke is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Ke is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Field of Biophysics, and the Graduate Field of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. The Ke lab studies the structure and function of RNA molecules.

Elizabeth Kellogg is the Robert N. Noyce Assistant Professor in Life Science and Technology in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. She is a member of the Graduate Fields of Biochemistry, Molecular, and Cell Biology and Biophysics. The Kellogg lab uses single-particle cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structures of proteins that ar important for genomic organization and integrity.
 

Amnon Koren is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and a Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences. Dr. Koren is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development. The Koren lab studies the genomics of DNA replication timing and mutagenesis.
 

Hojoong Kwak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Kwak is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Kwak lab studies the regulation of gene expression and the genomics of single cells.

William Lai is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He works with the Pugh lab and is interested in principles of gene regulation.
 

Sylvia Lee is an Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Lee is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, the Graduate Field of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, and the Graduate Field of Nutrition. The Lee lab studies the conserved molecular pathways that modulate organismal longevity.

John Lis is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Lis is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, and the Graduate Field of Biomedical Engineering. The Lis lab studies the structure of promoters and genes and the mechanisms of their regulation in living cells.

Kelly Liu is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Liu is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development and the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Liu lab studies fundamental mechanisms involved in cell-cell signaling.

Yuxin Mao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Mao is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology and the Graduate Field of Biophysics. The Mao lab studies the molecular mechanisms regulating membrane trafficking.

Linda Nicholson is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Nicholson is a member of the Graduate Field of Biophysics. The Nicholson lab studies the relationship between protein dynamics and function.

Jeff Pleiss is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Pleiss is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, and the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development. The Pleiss lab studies the role of pre-mRNA processing as a regulatory control point for eukaryotic gene expression.

Frank Pugh is the Greater Philadelphia Area Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Pugh is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, and the Graduate Field of Computational Biology. The Pugh lab studies molecular mechanisms of eukaryotic gene and genome regulation.
 
 

Eric Richards is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and a researcher in the Boyce Thompson Institute. The Richards lab studies epigenetics, the study of inherited information superimposed on genetic sequence.

John Schimenti is the James Law Professor of Genetics with appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Biology & Genetics. He also serves as Director of the Center for Vertebrate Genomics. Dr. Schimenti is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, the Graduate Field of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, and the Graduate Field of Molecular and Integrative Physiology. The Schimenti lab studies the mouse as a model to investigate the genetics and mechanisms of meiosis and genome maintenance.

Erich Schwarz is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He uses comparative nematode genomics to decipher both parasitic disease and fundamental biology. His current projects include defining vaccine targets in the zoonotic hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum, identifying genes required for male-female mating in Caenorhabditis nematodes, and identifying genes that are conserved between Caenorhabditis and humans, but that are largely or completely uncharacterized ("conserved unknowns").
 

Marcos Simoes-Costa is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and a Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences. Dr. Simoes-Costa is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, and the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Simoes-Costa Lab studies the molecular mechanisms that control cell fate decisions during embryonic development.


 

Marcus Smolka is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and a member of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology. He received a Ph. D. in Brazil, at the State University of Campinas, and worked as a FAPESP fellow at the Institute for Systems Biology (Seattle, WA). In 2003, Dr. Smolka moved to San Diego, CA, for a post-doctorate at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. He joined Cornell in 2008.
 
 

Doina Tumbar is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Tumbar is a member of the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development (GGD), the Graduate field of Biochemistry Molecular and Cell Biology (BMCB), and the Field of Biomedical and Biological Sciences (BBS). The Tumbar lab studies the molecular mechanisms controlling cell fate of tissue stem cells in mouse skin.

Volker Vogt is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Dr. Vogt is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. The Vogt lab studies the assembly of retroviruses, primarily using Rous sarcoma virus as a model system.

Mariana Wolfner is the Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Molecular Biology and Genetics and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow. Dr. Wolfner is a member of the Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Field of Genetics, Genomics and Development, and the Graduate Field of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The Wolfner lab studies the important molecular and gene-level reproductive processes that occur around the time when a sperm fertilizes an egg.