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     Lab Staff

LAB PHONE: 607-253-4295       LAB FAX: 607-253-4495

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Lab Locations: Veterinary Research Tower (VRT) T3 001, T3 010, T3 014

Group 2010

Paula E. Cohen, Ph.D.
Paula Cohen paula.cohen@cornell.edu
Tel: 607-253-4301

I did my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the University of London, England, and then went to New York City for two years to do a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Jeff Pollard at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Seven years later, and still in NYC, I took my first faculty position, also at Albert Einstein College, before making the move northward to Cornell.

During my PhD, I worked on the endocrine control of implantation in mice and in roe deer, and from there I moved on to study the role of macrophages and growth factors in steroid biosynthesis in the ovary and testis and in gonadal development. At the same time, I became involved in a collaboration to study mammalian gametogenesis in knockout mice that were being used as a model for colon cancer. This opened the door to a whole new world for me, one that included chromosomes, DNA repair, and genetics, and I have never looked back. This has allowed me to study genetic phenomena, such as recombination, and to combine such studies with my long-standing interest in reproductive biology and gametogenesis. I am really standing at the point at which all my research worlds collide and the view from here is quite breath-taking.

When I am not writing grants, papers, and animal protocols, and if I'm not in the lab, I like to read, cook, ski, watch movies, and spend time with my badly neglected cat (Scruffy) and with my friends and family.

 

Peter Loring Borst, Technician
peterlborst@cornell.edu
Peter Borst

I am the chargé d'affaires of the Cohen Lab mouse colonies. Developing and/or maintaining some thirty translines is my main occupation. I do the genotyping and keep track of all the lineages. It is exciting to be on the frontline of the rapid discovery in genomics that is taking place here at Cornell. An additional pleasure is being surrounded many of the best and brightest in the field.

A longtime resident of Upstate New York, my ancestors had an Inn in Painted Post back in the 1700s. In 1974, I entered the world of professional beekeeping. I have manufactured and sold beekeeping equipment, done large scale honey production, raised bees and queens for sale, among other things. Most recently, I accepted the post of president of the Finger Lakes Beekeepers Club. The mystery of the disappearing bees is somewhat of a specialty for me.

In the 1990s, I earned a degree in Graphic Design/Computer Graphics, with a special focus on digital photography. This expresses itself in my ongoing interest in photographing bees, flowers, and people. Some examples of my pictures are on display at peterloringborst.com<http://peterloringborst.com>.

 

Kadeine Campbell
Graduate Student (field of Genetics and Development)
kmc339@cornell.edu

 

Kim Holloway

J. Kim Holloway, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
jkh44@cornell.edu

I recently joined the Cohen lab and hope to work on genomic stability in mismatch repair mutant mice. I gained my Ph.D from the University of Leicester in the UK, by looking at linkage disequilibrium in the human genome and directly measuring the frequency and distribution of meiotic recombination events in the male germline. It is thought to be a general feature of the human genome that recombination events are clustered into narrow 2kb intervals, known as hotspots, which tend to puntuate extended blocks of limited haplotype diversity. To date, several human meiotic recombination hotspots have been characterised at high resolution by mapping recombination events in single sperm.

I am originally from Manchester, in the north of England, and am a supporter of the mighty Manchester United Football Club (that's football, not soccer).

I have recently taken up playing squash and tennis and am hoping to learn to snowboard in the winter here in Ithaca, as I hear it's a bit chilly here then.

 

Dr. Jackin Jayaram, DVM
Visiting Scientist
jackinjayaram@gmail.com

 

Andrew Modzelewski
Graduate Student (field of Genetics and Development)
am856@cornell.edu

Andrew Modzelewski I am a first year Genetics and Development grad student here at Cornell and have recently decided to join Paula and the Cohen Lab. I just finished my rotation period here in Paula's lab where I learned a great deal about meiosis and have been introduced to advanced techniques that I have only previously read about. I am just beginning my thesis research on the ill-defined function of the argonaute family of proteins in terms of development and reproduction. I am also continuing the research of a past lab member on the functions of MLH1 and MLH3 as well as investigating their possible protein interactions in order to better understand their role in meiosis.

I would like to get involved in some of the many outdoor activities Ithaca has to offer. I have spent some time snowboarding, hiking and biking. I have just recently been introduced to rock climbing and kayaking and now that the summer is upon us I would really like to continue those pursuits. Paula enjoys the fact that I own hedgehog(s). They are surprisingly independent animals and if the law permits, I hope to one day breed them. They serve as the perfect grad student pet since you can virtually forget about them for days and it turns out they actually prefer that level of attention and like grad students, they are nocturnal.

I am excited about my decision to join this lab because of how well the group operates and how friendly the atmosphere is. Paula is a very supportive and knowledgeable PI which gives me the most confidence about the next few years of my career.

I hope to get a chance to meet everyone in the department and would like to help out with whatever I can while I am here so please feel free to involve me in any event that might come up.

 

Dr. Swapna Mohan, DVM
Graduate Student (field of Molecular and Integrative Physiology)
sm874@cornell.edu

 

Xianfei Sun
Graduate Student (field of Molecular and Integrative Physiology)
xs33@cornell.edu

I am a first year graduate student in the field of physiology, department of biomedical sciences. I recently joined The Cohen lab and plan to start my Ph.D research in this new family. The first project I will work on is to study gene expression profiles in mismatch repair mutant female mice.








 

 

 

 

Former Lab Members

Ronald Arias

Robert Christenson

Kelly Corbett

Abigail Gilgeous

Rebecca Holmes, D.Phil.

Rui Kan , Ph.D.

Nadine Kolas

Michelle Lenzi

Amna Mohammed

Meisha A. Morelli

Elle Roberson

Anya Sedletcaia

Farah Siam

Jenetta Smith

Anton M. Svetlanov

Tamar Weinstock




Last Update March 15, 2011