Lobanenkov Research Group

The Molecular Pathology Section study paralogous DNA binding proteins CTCF and BORIS (also known as CTCFL) in 3D genome organization and gene regulation in normal and pathological contexts including; spermatogenesis, evolution, development and cancer.

Victor Lobanenkov, Ph.D.

Chief, Molecular Pathology Section

Contact: Victor Lobanenkov, Ph.D.

Education:

Ph.D., 1981, Cancer Research Center, Moscow

M.A., 1977, Institute of Physics, UK

Dr. Lobanenkov received an M.A. in nuclear physics from the Institute of Physics in 1977 and a Ph.D. in experimental oncology from the Cancer Research Center, Moscow, in 1981. He was molecular carcinogenesis team leader in the All-Union Cancer Center of the former U.S.S.R. and a visiting scholar at the Royal Cancer Hospital, London, until 1990, where he discovered avian CTCF. He was invited to the...

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Victor Lobanenkov, Ph.D.

Liron M. Fedida, B.A.

Post Baccalaureate

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Education:

B.A., City University of New York, Queens College, United States

Languages Spoken: Hebrew

Liron joined the group in 2021. His major project is to investigate the molecular pathology of CTCF mutations that are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. His interests lie in clinical neuroscience and biology. He aspires to attend medical school.

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Yon Ji, Ph.D.

Senior Research Associate

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Education:

Ph.D., Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea

Languages Spoken: Korean

Yon joined Dr. Lobanenkov’s group in 2021 as a senior research associate and works on several research projects. A major focus is the search of protein-partners, which are involved in 3D genome organization together with CTCF and cohesin. Yon utilizes cell biology assays, CRISPR genome editing and next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques to gain insights into the regulation of 3D chromatin...

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Dmitri Loukinov, Ph.D.

Staff Scientist

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Education:

Ph.D., Institute of Biochemistry, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Ukraine

Languages Spoken: Ukrainian, French, Russian

Dmitri works on several projects involving CTCF and BORIS that relate to 3D organization of genome, activation/repression of transcription, imprinting control, X chromosome inactivation & transgenerational inheritance. A current major interest is the clinical application of BORIS as an immune target to create personalized vaccines for the treatment of breast and other cancers.

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Emma Price, Ph.D.

Visiting Fellow/Postdoctoral Research Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

Emma joined the group in 2020 and leads a project to study the functional role of CTCFL in spermatogenesis. She has established a novel humanized CTCFL mouse model and developed protocols utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies to study 3D genome organization in germ cells. Her research interests are epigenetics, transposable elements and transgenerational inheritance.

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Elena M. Pugacheva, Ph.D.

Staff Scientist

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Education:

Ph.D., Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia

Languages Spoken: Russian

Elena studies the involvement of two paralogous proteins, CTCF and BORIS/CTCFL in 3D genome organization, transcriptional regulation of gene expression, transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, and epigenetic resetting in normal and cancer cells. Her approach is to study single examples of gene regulation in detail and then extend the analysis on a genome-wide level, incorporating multiple next...

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Kaushlendra Tripathi, Ph.D.

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Education:

Ph.D., Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, India

Languages Spoken: Hindi

Dr Tripathi joined the group in 2022. His main interests are DNA replication, cancer stem cells, cell cycle regulation and DNA damage response in various cancers and their inhibitors. His main research project focuses on deciphering the role of hypoxia induced myeloma derived exosomes and chemo-exosomes in angiogenesis and chromosome looping. He is also currently working on the role of BORIS in...

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