Agata received her B.S. in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of Southern California in 1995, her Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University in 2002 (laboratory of Dr. Titia de Lange) and her M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College in 2003. Following a residency in clinical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital, she joined Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow in Stephen Elledge's lab in 2005. She joined The Rockefeller University as an assistant professor in 2009 and became a tenured professor in 2023. Agata is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Early-Career Innovation Award (2016), Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research (2014), Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Scientist Development Award (2011), Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program Grant (2010), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists (2008) and the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award (2002). Agata was elected to American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Faculty Scholar.

 Tamar is a Senior Hematologist and Instructor in Clinical Investigation.

Despite having lived in NY State his entire life, Nicky grew up speaking German at home and also attended a German School. He completed his undergrad at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell, followed by a quick one-year stint at the NIH where he worked on cancer immunotherapy. Currently, he is a graduate student in the lab working on elucidating the life-stories of previously unstudied proteins found at the replication fork involved in DNA replication and damage response. Before moving to NYC, he used to enjoy the great outdoors, in particular fly-fishing, wind-surfing and biking. Now he mainly focuses on playing basketball, soccer and having über-riveting exclusively-science-related conversations over a few Pilsners.

Cayla grew up on 40 acres in a 951-person village in Michigan with three older siblings and 20+++ outdoor cats. She graduated from Yale University in 2016 after studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and neural crest cell development in the chick model. She then worked on telomere biology as a research technician and during this time she developed the interest in unperturbed DNA replication that drives her project in the Smogorzewska lab. Cayla joined the Tri-I MD-PhD Program in 2018. Outside of her work, she loves to eat good food, drink good wine, and plan good parties. Cayla is a social chair of the lab.

Ben is an MD-PhD student who joined the Tir-I MDPhD program in 2020. He graduated from UPenn in 2020 with a major in biochemistry, where he studied mechanisms of induction and emergence from anesthesia. In the lab, he is interested in studying mouse models of Fanconi anemia as it relates to development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Outside of lab, he enjoys cooking/baking, swimming, and watching TV with his cat!

Yu-Chien Lin

Study coordinator

ylin(at)rockefeller.edu

Dani attended Harvard College, graduating in 2016 with a concentration in Human Developmental & Regenerative Biology and a secondary in English. At the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, she worked in the lab of Lee Rubin studying selective vulnerability of midbrain dopamine neurons in Parkinson’s disease. She came to Rockefeller to pursue her PhD and has been in the lab since 2017. Currently, Dani is interested in studying the role of DNA repair in cerebellar development and medulloblastoma formation. In her spare time, she likes karaoke, rock climbing, swimming, hiking with her shih tzu, and worm composting.

Yu-Chien is our International Fanconi Anemia Registry study coordinator

Kate earned her B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of Rochester, with a distinction in research. Subsequently, she went on to Harvard University, where she earned a Ph.D. in the lab of Fred Winston investigating the role of the conserved histone chaperone and transcription elongation factor Spt6 in genome stability. She is currently excited to learn more about how the chromatin landscape plays a role during DNA replication stress during her postdoctoral studies in the Smogorzewska lab. In addition to her research, Kate has discovered a love of teaching and dedicates time to pedagogy training and mentoring young scientists. Outside of lab, you can find Kate playing sports, cooking, or watching the latest hit TV show. 

Marie received her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND, and after moved to NJ to pursue her scientific dreams. She worked as a research associate at Memorial Sloan Kettering, in the lab of Daniel Bachovchin studying the mechanism of immune cell death mediated by serine peptidase inhibitors. It was here that she discovered her interest in basic science research and decided to pursue her graduate education at Rockefeller University. She joined the Smogorzewska lab in July 2021 where she studies the role of genome instability in keratinocyte tumorigenesis. Outside of the lab, she enjoys cooking, dancing, and trying out new hobbies/activities around New York City.

Penelope grew up in Morganville, New Jersey and obtained her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University, before obtaining a MSc from New York University. Penelope subsequently made the long move to the Bronx to earn her PhD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Penelope is working to elucidate the regulation of RTF2 at the replication fork. In her spare time, she enjoys family runs with her husband and two small boys and meeting up with lab mates for the November Project. Her knowledge of playgrounds is unrivaled.

Shirley is an international student from Shenzhen, Guangdong China. After studying genetics at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, she joined the lab as a graduate student in 2021. She is interested in studying the metabolic liability and pathology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in patients with Fanconi Anemia. Outside of lab, she enjoys classical music, opera, historical Cdrama and feeding her hamster Roundy.

Arleen started the International Fanconi anemia registry in 1982 and has tremendous knowledge about Fanconi anemia.