Leadership
Haynes lab presenting research at the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Synthetic Biology Symposium
PhD student Kierra Franklin will present her latest research as a poster at the 3rd annual Mid-Atlantic Synthetic Biology Research Symposium (MASBS) which is taking place December 1 – 2, 2022 at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This will be the first year that this annual event will be hosted in Atlanta, GA. Karmella Haynes is serving as Co-Chair with Mark Styczynski (GA Tech). The MASBS is organized by the Mid-Atlantic Synthetic Biology Network (MASBN), a community of researchers, educators, entrepreneurs (academia, government, and the private sector) from Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia who share a common interest in synthetic biology and its supporting technologies.
Haynes lab presents research at the 2022 EpiBio Conference
PhD student Rick Kim and undergraduate researcher Maya Jaffe are presenting their latest research at the 6th International Conference on Epigenetics and Bioengineering (EpiBio 2022) which is taking place October 27 – 29, 2022 at the Rice University Bioscience Research Collaborative in Houston, Texas. EpiBio brings together interdisciplinary expertise to foster the development of new technologies and tools to answer biological questions in epigenetics. Dr. Karmella Haynes is serving as an organizing committee member. The poster presentations from the Haynes lab include:
- Maya Jaffe (undergraduate researcher), “Pre-Initiation Complex Recruitment By Synthetic Reader-Actuators Triggers an Anti-Cancer Expression Profile in Breast Cancer”
- Rick Kim (PhD student), “Investigating Promoters and Enhancers Targeted By a Synthetic Reader-Actuator in H3K27me3-Enriched Chromatin”
Symposium – BME Symposium on Health Disparities
Triple negative breast cancer is highly lethal, is resistant to therapy, and continues to disproportionately affect African-American women (X Du 2022). Some studies suggest that mortality is highest in Black women with obesity (LA Carey et al 2006). To investigate the molecular mechanism of obesity-induced aggressiveness in triple negative breast cancer, we have teamed up with the Henry lab (Dr. Curtis Henry, Emory Pediatrics), the first group to discover an obesity-associated drug target in patients with leukemia. Results from our new collaboration, “Murine model to identify epigenetic mediators of obesity-associated drug resistance in triple negative breast cancer” will be presented by Dr. Haynes at the BME Symposium on Health Disparities on Monday, April 18, 2022 at the Historic Academy of Medicine in Atlanta, GA.
Related material:
- Grillo J. 04.14.22. “Research Teams Update Progress on New Models for Health Disparities.” BME News Blog.
- Haynes K. 06.01.21. “Funding – BME Animal Model Development Grant to Study Disease Disproportionately Affecting Black Americans.” Haynes Lab Blog.
Karmella Haynes Joins NIH Biosecurity Advisory Board
Dr. Karmella Haynes is joining the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), a federal advisory committee chartered to provide advice, guidance, and leadership for dual-use research. She will serve a three-year term to help the U.S. evaluate research with legitimate and important scientific purpose that could also produce technologies or information that could be harmful if they are misused.
Related material:
- Stewart J. 06.23.2020. “Haynes Joins NIH Biosecurity Advisory Board.” BME News blog.
Dr. Haynes receives 2021 COLOR Magazine Innovator in STEM award
Dr. Haynes has received the 2021 Women of Color: Innovator in STEM award from COLOR Magazine. The Women of Color STEM Achievement Awards program recognizes and celebrates diverse women achieving new heights in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Honorees were nominated by scientists and health professionals across the U.S. The Innovator in STEM Award recognizes a leader who identifies, supports, and promotes innovative practices that address important challenges in expanding access to quality STEM education. The recorded awards ceremony is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2TkmLf-m0k
Invited Talk – UC Berkeley MCB Marian E. Koshland Seminar Series
Dr. Haynes presented an invited virtual talk, “Chromatin Engineering for Epigenetic Therapy in Triple Negative Breast Cancer,” for the Marian E. Koshland Seminar Series at the UC Berkeley Department of Molecular and Cell Biology on Tuesday, April 16, 2021. Special thanks to Eliana Bondra (graduate student) for hosting the virtual seminar and student and faculty meetings.
Invited Talk – Emory Winship Elkin Lecture
Dr. Haynes was invited to present her work, “Epigenetic activation of tumor suppressor gene groups in triple negative breast cancer cells” for for the Emory Winship Cancer Institute Elkin Lecture series on Friday, March 26, 2020. Special thanks to Dr. Adam Marcus for the invitation.
Invited Talk – Northwestern University Center for Synthetic Biology
Dr. Haynes presented an invited virtual talk, “Chromatin Engineering for Epigenetic Therapy in Triple Negative Breast Cancer,” for the Northwestern University Center for Synthetic Biology seminar series on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Special thanks to Dr. Mike Jewett, Dr. Danielle Tullman-Ercek, Dr. Julius Lucks, and the graduate student organizers of the GeneMods podcast and blog.
Invited Talk – University of Louisville Department of Biochemistry
Dr. Haynes presented an invited virtual talk, “Synthetic Effectors: Thinking Beyond Chromatin Editors for Cancer Epigenetic Therapy,” for the University of Louisville Department of Biochemistry seminar series on Monday, March 1, 2021. This event was organized by Danielle Little (PhD student) and the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Louisville.
Invited Talk – CSU East Bay Department of Biological Sciences
Dr. Haynes presented an invited virtual talk, “Chromatin Engineering to Control Genes in Triple Negative Breast Cancer,” for the California State University East Bay Department of Biological Sciences seminar series on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. The seminar series is organized by Dr. Pascale Guiton and the CSUEB Department of Biological Sciences
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