People

Effie Apostolou, PhD

Associate Professor of Molecular Biology in Medicine

Principal Investigator

 

Department of Medicine

Division of Hematology/Oncology

Cancer Center

Weill Cornell Medical College

Since I entered the Biology School in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, I have been fascinated by the complexity of molecular mechanisms that govern how are genes and cells work. During my PhD studies in Dimitris Thanos lab in Greece, I uncovered how inter-chromosomal contacts contribute to the stochastic gene expression upon virus induction (Apostolou and Thanos, Cell 2008). In 2009, I joined Konrad Hochedlinger’s lab in MGH and Harvard Stem Cell institute in Boston to study epigenetic mechanisms that drive somatic cell reprograming to iPSCs and the degree of 3D chromatin rewiring during this process (Apostolou*, Ferarri* et al, Cell Stem Cell 2013; Stadtfeld*, Apostolou* et al, Nature 2010; Stadtfeld*, Apostolou* et al, Nat. Gen. 2012).

I am currently an Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at Weill Cornell Medicine, which I joined in 2014. The main focus of my group is to dissect the critical interplay between TFs, 3D chromatin organization and transcription during either (i) maintenance of cell fate (self-renewal) or (ii) during transition to a new fate. Research in my lab led recently to the construction of an integrative, genome-wide map of the dynamic architectural and transcriptional changes that occur upon mitotic exit to ensure faithful propagation of stem cell identity and functionally interrogated the role of mitotic bookmarking in this process (Molecular Cell, 2021; Stem Cell Reports 2020; Cell Reports 2017). My group has also shown that transcription factors, such as KLF4, play important roles in the organization and transcriptional regulation of 3D enhancer hubs (Di Giammartino et al, Nature Cell Biology 2019).

I have received several awards, including Jane Coffins Child Foundation and EMBO postdoctoral fellowships as well as the NIH Director’s New Innovator award and the Emerging Leader award from the Mark Foundation. I am currently a member of the 4D Nucleome consortium.

I strongly believe in equality across genders, ethnicities and sexual preferences. I actively try to promote diversity in the lab, which has accommodated more than 10 nationalities from all over  the world, and I volunteer as a mentor for undergraduate and high-school underrepresented minority students.

Current members

  • Alex Polyzos, PhD

    Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, Research in Medicine

    Moving forward with a BS in biology I decided to focus on math and computational methods to address biological questions. After completing a MS in statistics and a PhD in bioinformatics in Greece I was involved in many projects in the fields of ESC reprogramming, differentiation, and cancer biology in the early stages of my postdoc. While numerous sequencing techniques and approaches were and are evolving in the field of molecular biology, 3D chromatin organization (the art in biology) caught my eye and decided to move into NYC and join Effie’s lab to work with experts in the 3D genome field. I am currently an instructor of molecular biology in Medicine trying to identify and uncover the properties of 3D enhancer and promoter networks (3D-HUBs) and the impact of HUB-rewiring in gene expression and 3D structure.

  • Laurianne Scourzic, PhD

    Instructor of Molecular Biology

    My research goal is to elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms regulating stemness
    acquisition, maintenance and alterations in lymphoid malignancies. During my PhD
    at the Gustave Roussy Cancer Center in Paris, I have developed several mouse
    models to understand the oncogenic cooperation involving TET2 and DNMT3A
    mutations, coexisting in T-cell lymphoma patients. I expanded my knowledge on the
    function of these epigenetic drivers when I joined Effie’s lab in 2016 by studying
    their role in the modulation of genomic imprinting at the Dlk1-Dio3 locus, crucial for
    proper stemness acquisition and development potential in vivo. I am currently
    interested in understanding the capacity of specific mature B-cells to manifest stem-
    cell features as well as to how the latter can be hijacked upon specific mutations and
    contribute to disease aggressiveness or relapse in lymphoma patients. I have
    received postdoctoral fellowships from the Lady Tata Memorial Trust and the
    Lymphoma Research Foundation (Oliver W. Press Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow). I
    also integrated the Laboratory/Translational Track of LRF Lymphoma Scientific
    Research Mentoring Program mentoring and supporting trainee’s transition from
    fellow to faculty.
    Email: [email protected] and Twitter @: LScourzic

  • Ada

    Ada Salataj, PhD

    Postdoctoral Researcher

    I hold a B.S in Biochemistry and a M.S. in Molecular Medicine from the University of Thessaly. Following a different career path, and after spending an intense and adventurous decade in the pharmaceutical industry, I decided to pursue a PhD in Molecular Immunology at the University of Crete/IMBB. My PhD work focused on elucidating the mechanism of monoallelic expression and perinuclear localization of the microRNA genes during early T cell development and differentiation. Alongside my graduate research, I also joined Institute Cochin/Universite Paris Descartes as a Research Associate, working on the role of superenhancers in the megakaryoblastic leukaemia. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Apostolou Lab where my research interests include the understanding of mammalian genome folding and the epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression during early cell fate decisions.

  • Chris Uyehara, PhD

    Postdoctoral researcher

    I’m a NYSTEM post-doctoral fellow in the Apostolou lab. I have a B.S. from the University of Virginia and a M.S. from the College of William and Mary, where I studied how changes in cytoskeletal organization were controlled during C. elegans spermatogenesis. I did my doctoral studies at the UNC-Chapel Hill where I researched how ecdysone hormone signaling in D. melanogaster elicits different gene expression responses throughout the animal and over time. You can follow me on Twitter: @cmuyehara or visit my website: www.cmuyehara.com

  • Dylan Murphy

    PhD Student, PBSB Program

    After completing my undergraduate degree at Tufts University and working in an undergraduate lab on tissue regeneration, I joined Weill Cornell as a Research Technician working on Prostate Cancer for two years.  I then decided to join the Physiology Biophysics and Systems Biology PhD program here at Weill Cornell.  Now, a 5th year Graduate Student, my project focuses on understanding how chromatin architecture is important for early cell fate decisions.  Since 2020, I have been grateful to be funded by the T32 Training Grant in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology.

  • Uk Jin Lee

    PhD Student, BCMB program

    I graduated from Seoul National University in 2020 spring with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and Computer Science & Engineering. After joining the BCMB PhD program at WCGS in 2020 fall, I got into the field of chromatin architecture and started working on elucidating the regulatory mechanism of cell identity using diverse approaches.

  • Lucy Cucereavii

    Research Technician- Lab manager

    I was trained at the University of Michigan, studying Cellular and Molecular Biology and Biomedical Engineering. I obtained a Masters of Science Engineering in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Biotechnology and Systems Biology. I previously worked for the Duncan lab at the Kresge Research Hearing Institute, differentiating mESCs into inner ear organoids. My current interests include stem cell research in the medical field, as well as keeping up to date with new scientific discoveries.

  • Alejandra Laguillo-Diego

    Postdoctoral Researcher

    I obtained my Bachelor in Biotechnology at the University of Salamanca and my Master in Nanobiophysics at the Technical University of Dresden. Back then I started to get interested in the microtubule cytoskeleton and its role in mitosis. I was awarded Marie SkłodowskaCurie fellowship to do my PhD at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona as part of a multidisciplinary training network focused on cell division. Within my project I used in vitro reconstitution assays, a variety of microscopy techniques and cell culture to investigate the role of a chromatin modifier complex on the regulation of microtubule dynamics during mitosis. The dual-role of this chromatin modifier both in the chromatin of interphase cells and in the microtubules of dividing cells caught my attention and for my future steps I decided to gain more insights on the chromatin structure and regulation during mitosis. Thus, I recently joined the Apostolou lab as a postdoctoral researcher to study how mitotic bookmarking and chromatin architecture  in mitosis determine cell-fate decisions in stem cells.

  • Sarah Breves

    PhD Student, PBSB program

    After graduating with a degree in Biology from Columbia University, I decided to pursue a medical degree at Temple University. During medical school, I worked in a lab studying mitochondrial calcium signaling and specifically the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU)’s structure, regulation and role in cellular metabolism. After medical school, I decided to pursue a career in surgery, and I am a surgery resident at Weill Cornell- New York Presbyterian Hospital. During my research years during surgery residency, I became interested in studying cancer epigenetics using high-throughput sequencing techniques with integrative computational analysis and decided to join the Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology PhD program here at Weill Cornell. Now, as a graduate student in the Apostolou lab, my work focuses on studying the role of 3D chromatin architecture in mechanisms that drive oncogenic programs in glioblastoma.

  • Raza Mahmood

    Computational Postdoctoral researcher

    As a postdoctoral researcher in the Apostolou Lab, I am broadly interested in understanding the relationship between 3D genome architecture and gene regulation. My research aims to elucidate the functional significance and mechanism of formation of architectural stripes and enhancer hubs.  I am using chromosome conformation capture data from assays such as HiC, HiChIP and Micro-C to identify and study these architectural features.  I hold a PhD in Genomics and Systems Biology from New York University where my doctoral research investigated the role of nuclear actin in regulating 3D genome architecture and enhancer promoter interactions. Before joining NYU, I completed my MS in Cell and Molecular Biology as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Arkansas.

  • Daniela Magliulo

    Postdoctoral Associate in Medicine

    As an undergraduate, I studied Medical Biotechnology at the University of Naples Federico II. After a year abroad as a pre-doctoral trainee at the University College Dublin and the Weizmann Institute of Science, I moved to Milan where I obtained a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. While there, I worked on hypoxia pathway in the contest of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and found a new function of the hypoxia responsive transcription factor HIF2a in blocking leukemic blasts differentiation. I joined Weill Cornell Medicine in 2023, and I am currently working as a co-mentored postdoc in Apostolou and Melnick labs. My research interest focuses on studying 3D chromatin organization and 3D hubs in germinal center B (GCB) cells and Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). I will focus on a specific locus control region (LCR) present in GCB and lymphoma cells to define its role in during germinal center reaction and lymphomagenesis.

  • Erin Char

    PhD Student, Tri-I CBM Program

    After earning my degree in Computer Science and Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder, I participated in the postbaccalaureate program at the NIH, where I conducted research on GWAS variants in Pancreatic Cancer. I then enrolled in the Tri-I Computational Biology and Medicine PhD program where I currently work in the labs of Effie Apostolou and Christina Leslie. My research is centered on the computational analysis and prediction of 3D chromatin architecture and its impact on gene expression, especially in the context of cancer.

Past members

  • Dafne Campigli di Giammartino, PhD

    Research Associate, Currently Group Leader ay IFOM in Genoa, Italy

  • Boaz Aronson, MD/PhD

    Postdoctoral Researcher

  • Bobbie Pelham-Webb

    MD/PhD Student

  • Jiexi Li

    Research Technician- Lab manager

  • Daniel Kim

    Research Technician

  • Veevek Shah

    Research technician

  • Yiyuan Liu

    Bioinformatician

Multicultural environment

Countries of origin of our lab members so far!
Greece
Greece
Italy
Italy
Israel
Israel
Albania
Albania
France
France
Netherlands
Netherlands
China
China
South Korea
South Korea
United States
United States
Romania
Romania
India
India
Turkey
Turkey