The Bernstein Lab
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Current Lab Members

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Kara Bernstein

Lab Head

B.A. Bryn Mawr College, 2000
Ph.D. Yale University, 2006 (Advisor Susan Baserga)
Post-doctorate Fellow, Columbia University, 2006-2011 (Advisor Rodney Rothstein)


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Michael Mihalevic

Laboratory Technician
July 1, 2011 - current

B.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2011

Lab Publications:


Westmoreland J.W., Mihalevic M.J., Bernstein K.A., Resnick M.A. (2018) The global role for Cdc13 and Yku70 in preventing telomere resection across the genome, ​DNA Repair, In press.

Zacchi, L.F., Dittmar, J.C., Mihalevic, M.J., Shewan, A.M., Schulz, B.L., Brodsky, J.F., Bernstein, K.A. (2017) A novel high-throughput yeast genetic screen for factors modifying protein levels of the Early-Onset Torsion Dystonia-associate variant torsinA∆E, Disease Models and Mechanisms, In press.

Godin, S.K., Zhang, Z., Herken, B.W., Westmoreland, J.W., Lee, A.G., Mihalevic, M.J., Yu, Z., Sobol, R.W., Resnick, M.A., Bernstein, K.A. (2016) The Shu complex promotes error-free tolerance of alkylation-induced base excision repair products, Nucleic Acids Research, 44(17): 8199-8215.

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öhm, S., Szakal, B., Herken, B.W., Sullivan, M.R., Mihalevic, M.J., Kabbinavar, F.F., Branzei, D., Clark, N.L., Bernstein, K.A. (2016) The budding yeast ubiquitin protease Ubp7 is a novel component involved in S-phase progression, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291(9): 4442.

Godin, S.K., Meslin, C., Kabbinavar F., Bratton-Palmer, D.S., Hornack, C., Mihalevic, M.J., Yoshida, K., Sullivan, M., Clark, N.L.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2015) Evolutionary and functional analysis of the invariant SWIM domain in the conserved Shu2/SWS1 protein family from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Homo sapiens,
Genetics, 199(4): 1023-1033.*Co-corresponding
*Issue Highlight for the Genetics journal and featured on SGD

B
öhm, S.,
Mihalevic, M.J., Casal, M.A., and Bernstein, K.A., (2015) Disruption of SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligases Slx5-Slx8/RNF4 alters RecQ-like helicase Sgs1/BLM localization in yeast and human cells, DNA Repair, 26: 1-14.


Bernstein, K.A., Mimitou, E.P., Mihalevic, M.J., Chen, H., Sunjaveric, I., Symington, L.S., Rothstein R. (2013) Resection activity of the Sgs1 helicase alters the affinity of DNA ends for homologous recombination proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Genetics,
195(4): 1241-1251.
*Issue Highlight for the Genetics journal



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Gregory Brunette

Laboratory Technician
August 15, 2016 - current

B.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2016

Lab Publications:

Kondrashova O., Nguyen M., Shield-Artin K., Tinker A.V., Teng N.N.H., Harrell M.I., Kuiper M.J., Ho G.Y., Barker H., Jasin M., Prakash R., Kass E.M., Sullivan M.R., Brunette G.J., Bernstein, K.A., Coleman R.L., Floquet A., Friedlander M., Kichenadasse G., O'Malley D.M., Oza A.M., Sun J.X., Robillard L., Maloney L., Bowtell D.D.L., Giordano H, Wakefield M.J., Kaufmann S.H., Simmons A.D., Harding T.C., Raponi M., McNeish I.A., Swisher E.M., Lin K., Scott C.L. (2017) Secondary somatic mutations restoring RAD51C and RAD51D associated with acquired resistance to the PARP inhibitor Rucaparib in high-grade ovarian carcinoma, Cancer Discovery, In press.

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Meghan Sullivan

Graduate Student
July 1, 2014 - current

B.A. University of Rochester


Funding: National Institutes of Health Pre-doctoral Fellowship (F31ES027321)

Lab Publications:


Kondrashova O., Nguyen M., Shield-Artin K., Tinker A.V., Teng N.N.H., Harrell M.I., Kuiper M.J., Ho G.Y., Barker H., Jasin M., Prakash R., Kass E.M., Sullivan M.R., Brunette G.J., Bernstein, K.A., Coleman R.L., Floquet A., Friedlander M., Kichenadasse G., O'Malley D.M., Oza A.M., Sun J.X., Robillard L., Maloney L., Bowtell D.D.L., Giordano H, Wakefield M.J., Kaufmann S.H., Simmons A.D., Harding T.C., Raponi M., McNeish I.A., Swisher E.M., Lin K., Scott C.L. (2017) Secondary somatic mutations restoring RAD51C and RAD51D associated with acquired resistance to the PARP inhibitor Rucaparib in high-grade ovarian carcinoma, Cancer Discovery, In press.

Godin, S.K., Sullivan, M.R., Bernstein, K.A. (2016) Novel insights into RAD51 activity and regulation during homologous recombination and DNA replication, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 94: 1-12.

McClendon, T.B.*, Sullivan, M.R.*, Bernstein, K.A.*, Yanowitz, J.L.* (2016) Promotion of homologous recombination by SWS-1 in complex with RAD-51 paralogs in Caenorhabditis elegans, Genetics, 203(1): 133-145. *Equal contribution

*Featured as a Genetics Primer [Turcotte, C.A., Andrews, N.P., Sloat, S.A., Checchi, P.M. CRISPR Technology Reveals RAD(51)-ical Mechanisms of Repair in Roundworms: An Educational Primer for Use with “Promotion of Homologous Recombination by SWS-1- in Complex with RAD-51 Paralogs in Caenorhabditis elegans” (2016) Genetics 204: 883-891]

Böhm, S., Szakal, B., Herken, B.W., Sullivan, M.R., Mihalevic, M.J., Kabbinavar, F.F., Branzei, D., Clark, N.L., Bernstein, K.A. (2016) The budding yeast ubiquitin protease Ubp7 is a novel component involved in S-phase progression, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291(9): 4442.

Godin, S.K., Meslin, C., Kabbinavar F., Bratton-Palmer, D.S., Hornack, C., Mihalevic, M.J., Yoshida, K., Sullivan, M., Clark, N.L.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2015) Evolutionary and functional analysis of the invariant SWIM domain in the conserved Shu2/SWS1 protein family from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Homo sapiens, Genetics, 199(4): 1023-1033. *Co-corresponding
*Issue Highlight for the Genetics Journal and featured on SGD


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Braulio Bonilla

Graduate Student
June 1, 2016 - current

Licentiate in Biology, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay, 2008

Funding: Fulbright Scholar


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Thong Luong

Graduate Student
May 29, 2017 - current

B.S., University of Tennessee, 2011




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Julieta Martino

Post-Doctorate Fellow
June 8, 2015 - current

Licentiate in Biology, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, 2005
Ph.D. University of Maine, 2015 (Fulbright scholar, Advisor John Wise)

Lab Publications: Martino, J., and Bernstein, K.A. (2016) The Shu complex is a conserved regulator of homologous recombination, FEMS Yeast Research, In press.

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Robert Baldock

Post-doctorate Fellow
June 7, 2016 - current

B.Sc. (Hons) University of Sussex, UK, 2012
Ph.D. University of Sussex, 2016 (Advisor Felicity Watts)


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Anton Khodakov

Medical Student Researcher University of Pittsburgh, Class of 2018
April 16, 2015 - current

B.A. Harvard University, 2014

Funding: Dean's Summer Research Program

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Catherine Pressimone

Undergraduate Researcher
September 7, 2015 - current

Funding: 2016 Diversity Supplement from the National Institutes of Health

Former Lab Members

Ph.D. Students

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Stephen Godin

Graduate Student
April 1, 2012 - December 31, 2015

B.S., B.S. University of Massachusetts- Amherst, 2011



Achievements

Post-doctorate

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Stefanie Böhm

Post-Doctorate Fellow
July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2015

Dipl. Goethe-University of Frankfurt, 2006
Ph.D. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 2011 (Advisor Alex Buchberger)



Achievements

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Cheryl Clauson

Post-Doctorate Fellow
July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013

B.A. Illinois Wesleyan, 2003
Ph.D. Emory University, 2010 (Advisor Paul Doetsch)

 



Achievements

Medical Students

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Yoav Karpenshif

Medical Student Researcher University of Pittsburgh, Class of 2015
Spring and Summer 2012, June 1, 2013 - June 30, 2013, November 25, 2014 - January 30, 2015

B.A. Emory University, 2011

Funding: Dean's Summer Research Program


Achievements
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Zhuying (Rebecca) Zhang

Tsinghua Scholar
October 21, 2013 - August 1, 2015




Achievements

Undergraduate students

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Gannon Rooney

Undergraduate Researcher
February 8, 2016 - April 22, 2016

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Jared Baird

Undergraduate Researcher, Washington and Jefferson University, Class of 2015

June 16, 2014 - December 4, 2014, May 18, 2015 - July 10, 2015

Funding: Merck Internship for Excellence in Science



Achievements

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Faiz Kabbinavar

Undergraduate Researcher, University of Pittsburgh, Class of 2015
October 17 2011 - August 8, 2013, August 27, 2014 - April 17, 2015

Funding: Arts and Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Award 2013
Brackenridge Summer Research Fellowship 2013 (declined)



Achievements
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Alison Lee

Undergraduate Researcher, University of Pittsburgh Class of 2015
January 7, 2013 - April 15, 2013, January 15, 2014 - December 5, 2014




Achievements
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Morgan Casal

Undergraduate Researcher, University of Pittsburgh
September 5, 2013 - December 1, 2014

Funding: Chancellor's Undergraduate Research Fellowship Fall 2014



Achievements
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Shahm Raslan

Undergraduate Student Aid, University of Pittsburgh
October 17, 2013 - June 13, 2014

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Dominique Bratton-Palmer

Undergraduate Researcher from Columbia University, Class of 2014
July 1, 2011 - August 31, 2011
June 1, 2012 - August 31, 2012
June 1, 2013 - August 31, 2013

Funding: 2012 Diversity Supplement from the National Institutes of Health
              2013 Diversity Supplement from the National Institutes of Health




Achievements

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Christina Hornack

Undergraduate Researcher University of Pittsburgh, Class of 2013
September 6, 2011 - June 30, 2013

Funding: Diversity Supplement from the National Institutes of Health





Achievements

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Robert Caro

Undergraduate Student Aid, University of Pittsburgh, Class of 2013
September 12, 2012 - April, 2013

Now: Dental Student at Temple University

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Cynthia Thomas

Undergraduate Student Aid
January 17, 2012 - April 20, 2012


High School

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Kyle Yoshida

High School Student, Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama, Honolulu, Class of 2014
June 19, 2013 - August 8, 2013



Achievements

Technician

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Benjamin Herken

Laboratory Technician
August 1, 2015 - July 31, 2017

B.A. Lewis and Clark College, 2015



Achievements

We are looking for highly motivated undergraduates, rotation students, and post-doctorate fellows!

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