People
Principal Investigators
Kristin Gunsalus
Professor of Biology, NYU Department of Biology
Co-Director, NYU Abu Dhabi Center for Genomics and Systems Biology
Director of Bioinformatics, NYU Abu Dhabi
Dr. Gunsalus obtained her BA in Chemistry and Biology and her PhD in Developmental Genetics from Cornell University. Dr. Gunsalus performs research in functional genomics and maintains research groups in New York and Abu Dhabi. Her research in New York focuses on early development in the simple animal model C. elegans. In Abu Dhabi, her lab is undertaking a new program in natural products discovery and chemical genetics. She is Co-Director of NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, directs a high-throughput screening facility and also serves as Faculty Directory of Bioinformatics for NYU Abu Dhabi, where her bioinformatics team supports deep sequencing analysis pipelines for all research groups at the NYUAD campus. In 2020, Dr. Gunsalus co-led a COVID-19 screening and monitoring program at NYUAD’s Saadiyat campus.
Fabio Piano
Global Distinguished Professor, NYU
Professor of Biology, NYU
Dr. Piano was the Provost of NYU Abu Dhabi from the opening of its doors in 2010 to 2020. Recently, he has been coordinating NYU Abu Dhabi’s COVID-19 response, launching new research and monitoring programs. Prior to his role as Provost, in 2001, Dr. Piano founded and directed NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology in New York. Dr. Piano maintains an active research program in genomics and systems biology focusing on embryonic development and evolution and, more recently, in chronic and infectious diseases. Prior to serving as a faculty member in Biology at NYU, Dr. Piano was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fellow at Cornell University, where he studied early embryonic development and evolutionary biology. Dr. Piano holds a Laurea from the University of Florence and a Ph.D. in Biology from NYU, where he also received his B.A., M.S., and M.Phil.
Research Scientists
Giselle Cipriani
Senior Research Scientist
Hin Hark Gan
Senior Research Scientist
My background is in chemical physics. I have worked on polymer theory, protein folding and RNA bioinformatics. My current research interests are in structural modeling of Argonaute-micoRNA-target complexes, protein-protein interactions in C. elegans P granules, and SARS-CoV-2 Spike/human ACE2 complexes.
Michelle Gutwein
Associate Research Scientist
Rosie Flanagan
Lab Associate
Rosie graduated from University of Rochester in Rochester, NY in 2020 with degrees in Molecular Genetics and English Literature. She conducted projects throughout her undergraduate and post-undergraduate year, including mapping genes involved in Drosophila speciation and inducing endogenous brain progenitors in mice as a possible treatment for Huntington’s Disease. She is currently assisting in projects on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in lotr-1 mutants, as well as proteins involved in p-granule formation and localization in the development of C. elegans.
Noah Smit
Assistant Research Scientist
Postdoctoral Associates
George Chung
Postdoctoral Associate
George is a geneticist and molecular biologist interested in the evolution of meiosis and genome architecture in nematodes. His project is to determine the genetic and genomic determinants of sex, with an emphasis on molecular adaptations in meiosis, chromosome biology, and germ cell development that enabled a parthenogenetic mode of reproduction from a gonochoristic (male and female) metazoan ancestor. In addition, his research will aim to establish a complementary model system in Diploscapter organisms alongside the established Caenorhabditis and Pristionchus models to determine evolutionary forces that shaped differences in meiosis, chromosome biology and germ line development in these organisms. In his spare time, he sings and plays music around the city.
Students
Sushmita Thakuri
PhD Student
I graduated from Ashoka University in India with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. During my undergraduate studies, I worked in the Cellular Morphogenesis lab at Ashoka, where I studied actin cytoskeleton proteins and explored their role in cell shape and membrane modeling in C. elegans early embryos. Currently, I am a third-year PhD student in Kris Gunsalus’s lab, investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in the recruitment of a Tudor protein to germ granules and stress granules. My research aims to uncover the molecular roles these novel components play in post-transcriptional gene regulation within the germline, utilizing genetics and proteomics approaches.
Bioinformaticians
Lior Galanti
Computer Systems Engineer
Lior Galanti is an experienced software engineer developing bioinformatics algorithms and software solutions for processing and analyzing deep sequencing at the Gunsalus lab at NYU. His tools often emphasize speed optimization, reusable code, and use of modern programming languages.
Lab Manager
Charlie Dubbeldam
Lab Manager