Principal Investigator
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)
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)
Post-doctorate
Sarah Hengel, Ph.D.
Post-Doctorate Fellow
August 15, 2017 - current
B.S. College of Saint Scholastica, 2010
Ph.D. University of Iowa, 2017 (Advisor Maria Spies)
Funding: 2017 Diversity Supplement from the National Institutes of Health
2019 Post-doctoral Hillman Fellowship for Innovative Cancer Research
2019 American Cancer Society Post-doctoral Research Fellow
2021 K99/R00 NIEHS
Lab Publications:
Rosenbaum JC*, Bonilla B*, Hengel SR*, Mertz TM, Herken BW, Kazemier HG, Pressimone CA, Ratterman TC, MacNary E, De Magis A, Kwon Y, Godin SK, Van Houten B, Normolle DP, Sung P, Das SR, Paeschke K, Roberts SA, VanDemark AP, Bernstein K.A. (2019) The Rad51 paralogs facilitate a novel DNA strand specific damage tolerance pathway, Nature Communications. 10(1): 3515. *Equal contribution
Bonilla, B.*, Hengel, S.R.*, Grundy, M.K., Bernstein, K.A. (2020) RAD51 gene family structure and function, Annual Review of Genetics. 54: 24-46. *Equal contribution
Bonilla, B., Brown, A.J., Hengel, S.R., Rapchak, K.S., Mitchell, D., Pressimone, C.A., Fagunloye, A.A., Luong, T.T., Russell, R.A., Vyas, R.K., Mertz, T.M., Zaher, H.S., Mosammaparast, N., Malc, E.P., Mieczkowski, P.A., Roberts, S.A.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2021) The Shu complex prevents mutagenesis and cytotoxicity of single-strand specific alkylation lesions, eLife. 10:e68080. *Co-corresponding
Post-Doctorate Fellow
August 15, 2017 - current
B.S. College of Saint Scholastica, 2010
Ph.D. University of Iowa, 2017 (Advisor Maria Spies)
Funding: 2017 Diversity Supplement from the National Institutes of Health
2019 Post-doctoral Hillman Fellowship for Innovative Cancer Research
2019 American Cancer Society Post-doctoral Research Fellow
2021 K99/R00 NIEHS
Lab Publications:
Rosenbaum JC*, Bonilla B*, Hengel SR*, Mertz TM, Herken BW, Kazemier HG, Pressimone CA, Ratterman TC, MacNary E, De Magis A, Kwon Y, Godin SK, Van Houten B, Normolle DP, Sung P, Das SR, Paeschke K, Roberts SA, VanDemark AP, Bernstein K.A. (2019) The Rad51 paralogs facilitate a novel DNA strand specific damage tolerance pathway, Nature Communications. 10(1): 3515. *Equal contribution
Bonilla, B.*, Hengel, S.R.*, Grundy, M.K., Bernstein, K.A. (2020) RAD51 gene family structure and function, Annual Review of Genetics. 54: 24-46. *Equal contribution
Bonilla, B., Brown, A.J., Hengel, S.R., Rapchak, K.S., Mitchell, D., Pressimone, C.A., Fagunloye, A.A., Luong, T.T., Russell, R.A., Vyas, R.K., Mertz, T.M., Zaher, H.S., Mosammaparast, N., Malc, E.P., Mieczkowski, P.A., Roberts, S.A.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2021) The Shu complex prevents mutagenesis and cytotoxicity of single-strand specific alkylation lesions, eLife. 10:e68080. *Co-corresponding
Kristie Darrah, Ph.D.
Post-Doctorate Fellow
September 20 2021- current
B.S. Bloomsburg University, 2014
Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2021 (Advisor Alex Deiters)
Lab Publications:
Prakash, R.#.*, Rawal, Y.#, Sullivan, M.R.#, Grundy, M.K., Bret, H., Mihalevic, M.J., Rein, H.L., Baird, J.M., Darrah, K., Zhang, F., Wang, R., Traina, T.A., Radke, M.R., Kaufmann, S.H., Swisher, E.M., Guerois, R., Modesti, M., Sung, P., Jasin, M.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2022) Homologous recombination-deficient mutation cluster in tumor suppressor RAD51C identified by comprehensive analysis of cancer variants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In press #Equal contribution, *Co-corresponding
Post-Doctorate Fellow
September 20 2021- current
B.S. Bloomsburg University, 2014
Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2021 (Advisor Alex Deiters)
Lab Publications:
Prakash, R.#.*, Rawal, Y.#, Sullivan, M.R.#, Grundy, M.K., Bret, H., Mihalevic, M.J., Rein, H.L., Baird, J.M., Darrah, K., Zhang, F., Wang, R., Traina, T.A., Radke, M.R., Kaufmann, S.H., Swisher, E.M., Guerois, R., Modesti, M., Sung, P., Jasin, M.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2022) Homologous recombination-deficient mutation cluster in tumor suppressor RAD51C identified by comprehensive analysis of cancer variants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In press #Equal contribution, *Co-corresponding
Ph.D. Students
Hayley Rein
Graduate Student
March 25, 2019 - current
B.S. University of South Florida, 2018
Funding: 2022 F31 NIH Predoctoral Research Fellowship (CA264889)
Lab Publications:
Prakash, R.#.*, Rawal, Y.#, Sullivan, M.R.#, Grundy, M.K., Bret, H., Mihalevic, M.J., Rein, H.L., Baird, J.M., Darrah, K., Zhang, F., Wang, R., Traina, T.A., Radke, M.R., Kaufmann, S.H., Swisher, E.M., Guerois, R., Modesti, M., Sung, P., Jasin, M.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2022) Homologous recombination-deficient mutation cluster in tumor suppressor RAD51C identified by comprehensive analysis of cancer variants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In press #Equal contribution, *Co-corresponding
Rein, H.L., Bernstein, K.A., Baldock, R. (2021) RAD51 paralog function in replicative DNA damage and tolerance, Current Opinions in Genes & Development. 71: 86-91.
Prakash, R., Sandoval, T., Morati, F., Zagelbaum, J.A., Lim, P.X., Taylor, B., Wang, R., Desclos, E.C.B., Sullivan, M.R., Rein, H.L., Bernstein, K.A., Krawczyk, P.M., Gautier, J., Modesti, M., Vanoli, F., Jasin, M. (2021) Distinct pathways homologous recombination controlled by the SWS1-SWSAP1-SPIDR complex, Nature Communications. 12(1): 4255.
Graduate Student
March 25, 2019 - current
B.S. University of South Florida, 2018
Funding: 2022 F31 NIH Predoctoral Research Fellowship (CA264889)
Lab Publications:
Prakash, R.#.*, Rawal, Y.#, Sullivan, M.R.#, Grundy, M.K., Bret, H., Mihalevic, M.J., Rein, H.L., Baird, J.M., Darrah, K., Zhang, F., Wang, R., Traina, T.A., Radke, M.R., Kaufmann, S.H., Swisher, E.M., Guerois, R., Modesti, M., Sung, P., Jasin, M.*, Bernstein, K.A.* (2022) Homologous recombination-deficient mutation cluster in tumor suppressor RAD51C identified by comprehensive analysis of cancer variants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In press #Equal contribution, *Co-corresponding
Rein, H.L., Bernstein, K.A., Baldock, R. (2021) RAD51 paralog function in replicative DNA damage and tolerance, Current Opinions in Genes & Development. 71: 86-91.
Prakash, R., Sandoval, T., Morati, F., Zagelbaum, J.A., Lim, P.X., Taylor, B., Wang, R., Desclos, E.C.B., Sullivan, M.R., Rein, H.L., Bernstein, K.A., Krawczyk, P.M., Gautier, J., Modesti, M., Vanoli, F., Jasin, M. (2021) Distinct pathways homologous recombination controlled by the SWS1-SWSAP1-SPIDR complex, Nature Communications. 12(1): 4255.
Mohd Azrin Jamalruddin
Graduate Student
July 1, 2019 - current
B.S. Michigan State University
Lab Publications:
Bai, S., Taylor, S.E., Jamalruddin, M.A., McGonigal, S., Grimley, E., Yang, D., Bernstein, K.A., Buchanovich, R.J. (2022) Targeting therapeutic resistance and multinucleate giant cells in CCNE1-amplified HR-proficient ovarian cancer. Molecular Cancer Therapy. 21(9): 1743-1484.
Brunette, G.J., Jamalruddin, M.A., Baldock, R.A., Clark, N.L., Bernstein, K.A. (2019) Evolution-based screening enables genome-wide prioritization and discovery of DNA repair genes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116(39): 19593-19599.
Graduate Student
July 1, 2019 - current
B.S. Michigan State University
Lab Publications:
Bai, S., Taylor, S.E., Jamalruddin, M.A., McGonigal, S., Grimley, E., Yang, D., Bernstein, K.A., Buchanovich, R.J. (2022) Targeting therapeutic resistance and multinucleate giant cells in CCNE1-amplified HR-proficient ovarian cancer. Molecular Cancer Therapy. 21(9): 1743-1484.
Brunette, G.J., Jamalruddin, M.A., Baldock, R.A., Clark, N.L., Bernstein, K.A. (2019) Evolution-based screening enables genome-wide prioritization and discovery of DNA repair genes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116(39): 19593-19599.
Adeola Fagunloye
Graduate Student
June 1, 2021 - current
B.S. Igbinedion University, Okada, 2015
M.S. University of the District of Columbia, 2020
Lab Publications:
Bonilla, B., Brown, A.J., Hengel, S.R., Rapchak, K.S., Mitchell, D., Pressimone, C.A., Fagunloye, A.A., Luong, T.T., Russell, R.A., Vyas, R.K., Mertz, T.M., Zaher, H.S., Mosammaparast, N., Malc, E.P., Mieczkowski, P.A., Roberts, S.A.*, and Bernstein, K.A.* (2021) The Shu complex prevents mutagenesis and cytotoxicity of single-strand specific alkylation lesions. eLife. 10:e68080. *Co-corresponding
Graduate Student
June 1, 2021 - current
B.S. Igbinedion University, Okada, 2015
M.S. University of the District of Columbia, 2020
Lab Publications:
Bonilla, B., Brown, A.J., Hengel, S.R., Rapchak, K.S., Mitchell, D., Pressimone, C.A., Fagunloye, A.A., Luong, T.T., Russell, R.A., Vyas, R.K., Mertz, T.M., Zaher, H.S., Mosammaparast, N., Malc, E.P., Mieczkowski, P.A., Roberts, S.A.*, and Bernstein, K.A.* (2021) The Shu complex prevents mutagenesis and cytotoxicity of single-strand specific alkylation lesions. eLife. 10:e68080. *Co-corresponding
Technicians
Phoebe Parker
Research Technician
July 1, 2022 - current
B.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2022
Lab Publications:
Luong, T.T., Li, Z., Priedigkeit, N., Parker, P.S., Böhm, S., Rapchak, K., Lee, A.V., Bernstein, K.A. (2022) Hrq1/RECQL4 regulation is critical for preventing aberrant recombination during DNA intrastrand crosslink repair and is upregulated in breast cancer. PLoS Genetics, 18(9): e1010122.
Research Technician
July 1, 2022 - current
B.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2022
Lab Publications:
Luong, T.T., Li, Z., Priedigkeit, N., Parker, P.S., Böhm, S., Rapchak, K., Lee, A.V., Bernstein, K.A. (2022) Hrq1/RECQL4 regulation is critical for preventing aberrant recombination during DNA intrastrand crosslink repair and is upregulated in breast cancer. PLoS Genetics, 18(9): e1010122.
Undergraduate Researchers
Isabela Contreras
Undergraduate Researcher
October 3, 2023 - current
University of Pennsylvania
Funding/Fellowships: 2023 Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society Undergraduate Scholarship
2023 Basser Summer Scholars Program
Undergraduate Researcher
October 3, 2023 - current
University of Pennsylvania
Funding/Fellowships: 2023 Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society Undergraduate Scholarship
2023 Basser Summer Scholars Program
We are always looking for highly motivated undergraduates, rotation students, and post-doctorate fellows!
Former Trainees
Graduate Students
2012-2015 |
Stephen Godin |
Current Position: |
Senior Scientist I at Tango |
2014-2020 |
Meghan Sullivan |
Current Position: |
Review Analyst-Variant Scientist at GeneDx |
2016-2020 |
Braulio Bonilla |
Current Position: |
Post-doctoral Research Fellow with Dr. Sarah Hainer, University of Pittsburgh |
2017-2022 |
Thong Luong |
Current Position: |
Post-doctoral Research Fellow with NCI |
Post-doctorate
2012-2013 |
Cheryl (Clauson) Kozina |
Current Position: |
Associate Professor (with tenure) at St. Leo University, FL |
2012-2015 |
Stefanie Bohm |
Current Position: |
Editor at EMBO Journal |
2015-2018 |
Julieta Martino |
Current Position: |
Variant Scientist, GeneDx |
2016-2018 |
Robert Baldock |
Current Position: |
Senior Lecturer of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England |
Medical Students
2012-2015 |
Yoav Karpenshif |
Current Position: |
Advanced Fellow in Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania |
2013-2015 |
Zhuying Zhang (Rebecca) |
Current Position: |
M.D. |
2015-2017 |
Anton Khodakov |
Current Position: |
Corporate Strategy Consultant, Humana |
Undergraduate Students
2011-2013 |
Dominique Bratton-Palmer |
Current Position: |
Business Analyst Myers-Holum |
2011-2013 |
Christina Hornack |
Current Position: |
Emergency Medicine Physician at OVP Health, Chillicothe, OH |
2011-2015 |
Faiz Kabbinavar |
Current Position: |
M.D. Family Medicine |
2012 |
Cynthia Thomas |
Current Position: |
Laboratory Technician at the Citizen Science Lab, Pittsburgh, PA |
2012-2013 |
Robert Caro |
Current Position: |
Associate Dentist at Kaye Dentistry, NY, NY |
2013-2014 |
Morgan (Casal) Butrovich |
Current Position: |
PhD candidate Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences |
2013-2014 |
Shahm Raslan |
Current Position: |
Medical Student at Florida International University |
2013-2014 |
Alison Lee |
Current Position: |
Ph.D. Student at University of Texas Austin |
2014-2015 |
Jared Baird |
Current Position: |
Anesthesiology Resident at Wake Forest |
2015-2018 |
Catherine Pressimone |
Current Position: |
Medical Student at University of Pittsburgh |
2016 |
Gannon Rooney |
Current Position: |
Medical Student at University of Pittsburgh |
2017-2020 |
Chelsea Smith |
Current Position: |
Graduate Student University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
2019-2021 |
Ella Roberts |
Current Position: |
Patient Care Technician at Children's Hospital |
2020-2022 |
Katherine Oppenheimer |
Current Position: |
Undergraduate Researcher at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center |
2021-2022 |
Reagan Russel |
Current Position: |
Undergraduate Researcher for Dr. Andrea Berman, University of Pittsburgh |
2021-2022 |
Phoebe Parker |
Current Position: |
Laboratory Technician at the University of Pennsylvania |
2022 |
Megan Pauly |
Current Position: |
Clinical Research Associate at Labcorp |
Technicians
2011-2018 |
Michael Mihalevic |
Current Position: |
R.N. |
2015-2017 |
Benjamin Herken |
Current Position: |
Ph.D. Student at University California San Francisco TETRAD Program |
2016-2019 |
Gregory Brunette |
Current Position: |
Ph.D. Student at Harvard University in Bioinformatics |
2018-2020 |
McKenzie Grundy |
Current Position: |
Ph.D. Student at UNC Chapel Hill |
High School Students
2012 |
Leah Furman |
Current Position: |
Ph.D. Student at Wiezmann Institute of Science, Jerusalem, Israel |
2013 |
Kyle Yoshida |
Current Position: |
Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University |
2014, 2016 |
Yael Colton |
Current Position: |
FSO Assurance Staff at EY, New York, NY |
2016 |
Brian Kang |
Current Position: |
Director at Make Ventures Princeton, Atlanta, GA |
2016-2017 |
Ashani Shah |
Current Position: |
Undergraduate Student- B.Sc/M.D. Program at Rutgers University, NJ |
2017 |
Zehra Mehdi |
Current Position: |
N.A. |
2019 |
Charles Burton |
Current Position: |
Undergraduate Student at University of Virginia |