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Tothova Lab - Genetics and Epigenetics of Blood Cancers
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February 2023 - Welcome to Keely!

We welcome Keely Ji, our new rotation student in the lab! Keely is a first year Ph.D. student in the Harvard Immunology Program. She graduated from UC Davis in 2022 with a B.S. in Cell Biology. At UC Davis, she was an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Chang-il Hwang’s lab, investigating epigenetic therapies that could induce synthetic lethality with DNA repair deficiencies in familial pancreatic cancer. She is interested in understanding epigenetics in immune cells and human disease. 
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December 2022 - Secret Santa reveal

Warmest wishes for the new year!
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December 2022 - Back at ASH!

Congratulations to Emily for her excellent presentation of her work on mechanisms of splicing modulation in cohesin-mutant MDS and AML! 
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December 2022 - Congratulations to Han Lin!

Congratulations to Han Lin for being selected as a 2022 Helen Gurney Brown Fellow !
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November 2022 - Cancer program retreat in Stowe

It was so fun to reconnect with new and old friends and colleagues, and welcome the first snow in beautiful Stowe, VT!
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November 2022 - Happy Halloween!

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September 2022 - Our degron profiling paper is out!

Exciting to see the fruits of this truly amazing team effort on testing 5 different degron strategies across multiple targets, including our very own cohesin subunits, out in print. Congratulations to Dylan and the rest of the team. 

​You can read it here.
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July 2022 - Farewell to Amy and Will

We wish all the best to Amy and Will who are leaving the lab after a couple wonderful years and moving on to medical school and graduate school. We will miss them dearly and can't wait to see all the amazing things they will accomplish. 
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July 2022 - Welcome to Ben!

We are super excited about Ben Braun joining our team as a new computational research associate! Ben is originally from Germany. He graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Computer Science and minors in Biology and Genetics. At Clemson, Ben worked with Dr. Pingshan Wang on applied machine learning and signal processing for microfluidic sensor systems. When he isn't working, Ben enjoys mountain biking, coding, and good books, preferably with good coffee.
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July 2022 - Our berry picking/beach summer outing!

It was a perfect July weekend to head up north to Ipswich for some seriously delicious blueberry and raspberry picking at Russell Orchards, followed by a picnic on the Crane estate and beach time on Crane beach. And did we mention ice-cream? Yeah, we snuck that in too. What a fun way to celebrate the summer with the Burns lab!
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June 2022 - Welcome back to Sofia!

We are so excited to have Sofia back with us in the lab! Sofia recently graduated from Williams College with a degree in in Biology and a concentration in Spanish, where she also completed her honors thesis in Dr. Lois Banta's lab, investigating the impact of the Type VI secretion system in Agrobacterium tumefaciens on defensive signaling in A. thaliana. Outside the lab, she enjoys singing, reading, and hiking.
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June 2022 - Welcome to Caroline!

We are thrilled welcome Caroline as the newest addition to our team. Caroline comes to us from Wesleyan University where she recently graduated with dual degrees in Biology and French studies, and a minor in informatics and modeling. At Wesleyan, Caroline did her undergraduate research in Joe Coolon's lab investigating gene regulation and dietary specialization in Drosophila. Caroline is originally from Seattle, and enjoys hiking, reading, and visiting as many coffee shops as possible.  
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May 2022- Congratulations to Amy and Will!

Many congrats to Amy and Will, our youngest generation of Tothova Lab graduates heading to graduate school and medical school! We are so very proud of all your accomplishments and can't wait to see where your new adventures take you!
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March 2022 - Our ski trip turned winter hiking trip

We did not let the unseasonably warm temperatures and rain get in the way of our winter ski getaway to New Hampshire. We succeeded in staying upright and not breaking any bones as we braved a climb to a water fall and a lake, followed by a visit to a Bavarian chocolate haus where even our very own German found something authentic! And who knew that people could get so competitive playing Blockus and Pictionary...
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March 2022 - Caroline wins the Herchel Smith Fellowship! 

Congratulations to Caroline for being awarded the Herchel Smith Undergraduate Science Research fellowship! So well deserved! 
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February 2022 - Our paper identifying cohesin and CTCF as suppressors of PD-L1 is out!

​Congratulations to Emily for leading a collaboration with the Elledge lab that led to the identification of cohesin and CTCF proteins as negative regulators of PD-L1, interferon and NF-kB signaling.

​You can read it here!
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February 2022 - Congratulations to Han Lin!

Congratulations to Han Lin for being selected as a Helen Gurney Brown Fellow!
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January 2022 - Farewell to Karin

We bid farewell to Karin who is starting as a principal scientist at Surface Oncology. Congratulations and best wishes!
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December 2021 - Secret Santa

Happy holidays from our family to yours!
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December 2021 - ASH 2021

It was great to be back at ASH, hear about great science and reconnect with friends. 
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October 2021 - Happy Halloween!

Impersonation of our favorite chromatin complex loaded on DNA for Halloween 2021!
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October 2021 - Congrats to Johann for receiving a grant from the German Research Foundation!

Congratulations to Johann for being awarded a grant from the German Research Foundation (​The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) to support his work on cohesin-mutant MDS!
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October 2021 - Florence receives the best student thesis prize

Congratulations to Florence Verbeek, a former masters thesis student in our lab, who received the best student thesis prize from the ​Nijbakker-Morra Foundation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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August 2021 - we welcome Johann Jann

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Johann to our team.  He is coming to us from University of Heidelberg in Germany where he completed his MD in Daniel Nowak’s lab, studying the clonal dynamics in MDS. While completing his clinical training in internal medicine at the University Medical Center Mannheim, Germany, he developed both wet lab and bioinformatics skills for genome-wide mutational and transcriptional analysis to support clinical decision making for patients with MDS and AML. In the Tothova lab he is interested in studying how cohesin mutations confer competitive advantage to stem cells leading to the clonal dominance and in ways to tackle them therapeutically. Outside the lab, Johann’s two toddlers keep him busy, he is a passionate cyclist and looks forward to resuming his activity as a semi-professional singer after the pandemic.
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August 2021 - Tothova Lab summer outing!

Celebrating summer at Boston Harbor Islands, welcoming Johann and bidding farewell to Dylan and our summer students.
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August 2021 - celebrating our summer students!

Lots to celebrate this summer with our two wonderful summer students, including many summer birthdays!
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July 2021 - We turned 3!

Today we celebrated our 3rd birthday. This experiment has been a great fun! Here's to everyone who helped make the last three years so successful! And we are looking forward to many more successes and celebrations in the future.
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June 2021 - Our cohesin review is published!

You can read it here!
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June 2021 - Tothova Lab welcomes Sofia Neaher

We are very excited to welcome Sofia Neaher as a Williams-Whitehead scholar to our lab this summer. Sofia is a rising senior at Williams College where she is majoring in Biology, alongside a concentration in Spanish. She has previously worked in Dr. Paul Campbell’s laboratory at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, focusing on the interactions of the mutant K-Ras and HuR proteins in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. She is also pursuing a thesis in Dr. Lois Banta’s lab, investigating the impact of the Type VI secretion system in Agrobacterium tumefaciens on defensive signaling in A. thaliana. Outside the lab, she enjoys singing, reading, and hiking. 
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June 2021 - Tothova Lab welcomes Caroline Conway

We are thrilled to have Caroline Conway join our lab. Caroline is a junior at Harvard College studying Chemical and Physical Biology with a secondary in History.  She previously worked in Dr. Cliff Tabin’s laboratory, where she utilized mouse models to investigate the relationship between variants of EDAR and mammary gland density. Outside of the lab, Caroline enjoys reading, knitting, and dancing with the Harvard Ballet Company and Harvard Radcliffe Modern Dance Company.
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April 2021 - Remembering Francisco Marty

We mourn the loss of Francisco Marty, a brilliant physician, clinical investigator and teacher, and one of the kindest and most generous human beings on this planet. He was a wonderful friend of the lab and shared his gift of photography with us, capturing the most important events in the lab with his special lens. We will miss his infectious smile, his love of selfies and passion for medicine and life. May he rest in peace.
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March 2021 - Tothova Lab welcomes Sana Shareef

We are very excited to have Sana Shareef join our lab. Sana is a junior at Harvard College where she studies Human, Developmental and Regenerative Biology with a secondary major in Religion. She has previously studied the effect of Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on hematopoietic and melanocyte stem cell function in Jonathan Hoggatt's laboratory where she also helped develop targeted leukemia therapy models involving gene-edited hematopoietic stem cells. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, learning Urdu poetry, and staying active with yoga, pilates and dance. 
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March 2021 - Celebrating Emily's F32 grant success!
Congratulations to Emily on hitting a home run with her F32 application!
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February 2021 - Our cohesin paper is published!

You can read it here!
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Birthday celebrations 2020-2021​

Aaaaand..... we are another year older!
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December 2020 - Florence wins the best student thesis prize!

Congratulations to Florence for winning the best student thesis prize from the The Nijbakker-Morra Foundation!
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November 2020 - Karin wins the Helen Gurley Brown fellowship!
Congratulations to Karin on being selected as one of the 2020 Helen Gurley Brown Fellows!
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September 2020 - Tothova Lab Welcomes Margaret Zimmer

We are very happy to welcome Margaret Zimmer as a rotating graduate student in our lab. ​Margaret is a second-year Harvard BBS PhD student whose general scientific interests include cancer biology, immunology, and genetics. Outside of the lab, she is a proud dog mom of an Australian cattle dog mix named Ace and an avid sports fan.
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September 2020 - Tothova Lab Welcomes Amy Wang

We are very excited to have Amy Wang join our lab as a new computational research associate. Originally from Seattle, she graduated from Brown University in 2020, where she majored in computational biology and completed an undergraduate thesis involving a comparative analysis of various genetic fusion detection programs. Amy hopes to assist the lab in their studies of the epigenetic underpinnings of myeloid malignancies. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, drawing, and the occasional jog.
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September 2020 - Tothova Lab welcomes Emily Wheeler

We are thrilled to welcome Emily as a new postdoc in our lab. ​Emily completed her PhD in Gene Yeo's lab at UC San Diego studying the role of cancer-associated point mutations in splicing factor proteins on RNA recognition and alternative splicing. Additionally, she developed a technology (CRaft-ID) utilizing microraft arrays with high-throughput imaging to perform a CRISPR-screen for regulators of cytoplasmic protein-RNA assemblies in cells. As a graduate student, Emily was trained in both wet and dry lab techniques to develop a hybrid skill set between bioinformatics and bench work in the lab. In the Tothova lab, she is interested in studying the cross-talk between RNA splicing and cohesin function in various cell line and animal models of MDS and AML. Outside the lab, Emily loves to stay active with soccer (pre-pandemic times), rock climbing, cycling, and skiing. 
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August 2020 - Farewell to Florence

We bid farewell to Florence Verbeek who has completed her masters thesis and is returning back to the Netherlands to complete her combined medical school/master's degree program at the University of Amsterdam. Congratulations and good luck, Florence!
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July 2020 - We are excited to present our work in the Connect : Science seminar series

We were honored to present our work at the Connect : Science seminar series organized by the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Click below to watch.
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June 2020 - Farewell to Becca

We wish all the best to Becca Gorelov who is leaving the lab after two wonderful years to start her PhD in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program at Harvard Medical School this summer. We celebrated her time and many important scientific contributions in the lab with a socially distanced picnic. We are very sad to see her go but thrilled that she will be staying in Boston!
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June 2020 - Tothova Lab welcomes Dylan Millson

We are very happy to welcome Dylan Millson who is joining our team as a new research associate. Dylan grew up in North Carolina and graduated from Williams College in 2020 with degrees in chemistry and biology. He was a four-year member of Williams wrestling team. Dylan completed his undergraduate thesis in the lab of Prof. Ben Thuronyi, where he developed a modular DNA toolkit to enable fluorescent proteins to form phase condensates in E. coli. In the Tothova lab, he aims to study genetic and epigenetic aberrations that contribute to myeloid malignancies. When he isn't in the lab, Dylan enjoys reading, lifting weights, and playing electric bass. ​
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March 2020 - Tothova Lab welcomes Will Doyle

We are very excited to welcome Will Doyle as a new research associate in the Tothova lab. Will grew up in Arlington, MA and graduated from Williams College in 2019 with a major in biology. For his undergraduate thesis in the lab of Prof. Lois Banta, he studied the connected roles of a plant defense hormone and the bacterial type VI secretion system in Agrobacterium tumefaciens infection. Will is joining the Tothova Lab to contribute to the understanding of epigenetic dysregulation in leukemia development. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing jazz trombone, studying languages, and baking bread.
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March 2020 - Ben wins the Goldwater Scholarship!
Congratulations to our superstar undergraduate student Ben Maron who has been awarded a 2020 Goldwater Scholar award. Very well deserved!
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February 2020 - The lab has moved to DFCI!

We are very excited to be unpacking boxes in our second new home at the Dana-Farber. Come visit us in Mayer 633/634.
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January 2020 - Tothova lab welcomes Florence Verbeek

We are thrilled to welcome Florence Verbeek as a visiting graduate student from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Florence is currently pursuing a medical degree as well as a masters degree in Biomedical Sciences. She has previously studied drug resistance in gastrointestinal malignancies. Her work in the lab will focus on therapeutic targeting of cohesin-mutant MDS and AML. Outside of the lab, she is an avid CrossFitter, and enjoys reading and watching reruns of The Office. ​
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December 2019 - Secret Santa

Our annual tradition. A few gifts remained to be found at the reveal party.
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December 2019 - ASH annual meeting

Mounica Vallurupalli presented the first oral presentation of the Tothova lab at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Orlando, FL. She discussed the development of new mouse models of cohesin-mutant myeloid disease and the preclinical studies with the PARP inhibitor talazoparib leading to a Phase 1b clinical trial of talazoparib in cohesin-mutant MDS/AML patients.
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November 2019 - Tothova lab welcomes Han Lin

We are very excited to welcome Han Lin, PhD, a new postdoctoral fellow in the lab. Han Lin is joining our lab from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore/National University of Singapore where she recently completed her PhD in Dr. Phil Koeffler’s lab. Her doctoral work was focused on understanding the function of ARID1A, a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, in normal hematopoietic development. Welcome, Han Lin!
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September 2019 - Jimmy Fund Walk

The Tothova Lab and Friends participated in our second Jimmy Fund Walk on a beautiful first day of fall. This year, we walked the full marathon course and were still smiling at the finish line! Thank you to all of our supporters.
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September 2019 - Tothova lab welcomes Karin Golan

We are thrilled to welcome Karin Golan, PhD, a new postdoctoral fellow in the lab. Karin is joining our lab from the Weizmann Institute where she did her PhD with Tsvee Lapidot studying different aspects of basic hematopoietic stem cell biology, including the influence of light and darkness, mitochondrial transfer with bone marrow environment and the role of sphingosine 1-phosphate in HSC motility. Welcome, Karin!
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August 2019 - Farewell to our summer student  Ben Maron

We are sad to see our fantastic summer student Ben Maron leave us to start his junior year at Williams College. He has had an incredibly productive summer in the lab and we are eager to welcome him back to the lab in a few months!
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​July 2019 - Tothova Lab is awarded the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award

We are very grateful to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for supporting our work on splicing in cohesin-mutant MDS/AML
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July 2019 - Tothova Lab welcomes Liana Tellez

Today, we welcomed Liana Tellez as the newest member of the lab. Liana is joining us from Northwestern University as a research associate in the Broad Genomics Scholar program.
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July 2019 - Tothova Lab turns 1!

Today we celebrated the first year anniversary of our lab, celebrated friendships and collaborations, and welcomed a new addition to our team, Liana Tellez.
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June 2019 - Mounica's send off to the Brigham for her chief medical residency year

We will miss Mounica as she embarks on her year as a chief medical resident at the Brigham and Women's Hospital.
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June 2019 - Tothova lab is awarded the Discovery Research grant from the Evans Foundation

We are very grateful to the EvansMDS initiative of the Evans Foundation to support our work on targeting DNA damage repair in cohesin-mutant MDS
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June 2019 - Tothova lab is awarded the inaugural RUNX1 Young Investigator Award

We are very grateful for the support from the RUNX1 Research program and Alex's Lemonade Stand for our study of disease progression in familial platelet disorders to MDS and AML
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May 2019 - Tothova lab welcomes Ben Maron

Today, we welcome Ben Maron to our lab. Ben is a rising junior at Williams College majoring in biology and mathematics, and a recipient of the Williams-Whitehead fellowship for the summer. He will be working on understanding the effect of cohesin complex mutations on nascent transcription.
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April 2019 - Zuzana Tothova receives the Tito Bastianello Award

We are very grateful to the MDS Foundation for recognizing our work on mechanisms of cohesin mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes during the 15th International Symposium on Myelodysplastic syndromes in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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April 2019 - Celebrating our first PDX model!

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March 2019 - Ski trip

Our winter getaway to Cranmore Mountain, NH.
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Birthday celebrations 2018-2019

Aaaand... we are one year older!
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December 2018 - Tothova Lab Holiday Party
Our first annual holiday party marked by the first Christmas tree ornament.
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December 2018 - Secret Santa
The annual Secret Santa tradition dating back to the Gilliland lab era continues.
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​December 2018 - ASH annual meeting
We attended the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego. 
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October 2018 - B.A.A. Half Marathon
Congratulations to all the runners for conquering the Boston half marathon on this beautiful fall day!
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September 2018 - The Jimmy Fund Walk
The Tothova lab and friends team participated in the Jimmy Fund Walk celebrating its 30th anniversary on a beautiful first day of fall. We joined thousands of patients, families and care givers to walk 13.1 mile half marathon route from Wellesley to Boylston Street.
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August 2018 - Farewell to Anastasia

Today, we said goodbye to our fabulous summer student, Anastasia Tishena. She will be missed most for her mastery of the CellTiter-Glo assay as well as her wit in lab. Anastasia leaves us to start her junior year at Williams College. Click below to see some more photos of Anastasia's summer in the Tothova Lab. 
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August 2018 - Sailing in the Charles River

The Tothova and Ebert lab spent this beautiful summer evening sailing in the Charles River. Click below to see some more photos!
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July 2018 - Farewell to Kiki

To celebrate Kiki's last day in the Tothova and Ebert labs, we all set off to the Arboretum for a picnic! Kiki leaves the lab after two years. She is now off pursuing a Masters of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University. We are all sad to see her go, but happy to know she'll be in Boston for the time being! Click below to see some photos from her farewell picnic. 
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July 1, 2018 - Tothova Lab welcomes Anastasia Tishena 

Today, we also welcomed Anastasia to the Tothova Lab. Anastasia will be joining the lab for the next 10 weeks working on drug synergy experiments in various leukemia cell lines. Anastasia is joining us from Williams College, where she just finished up her sophomore year as a biology major and biochemistry concentrator. 
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July 1, 2018 - Tothova Lab welcomes Rebecca Gorelov 

Today, Rebecca joined the Tothova Lab as a research associate. Rebecca just graduated from Williams College as a biology major. She joins the lab to help develop different model systems to study leukemia.  
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July 1, 2018 - Tothova Lab welcomes Mounica Vallurupalli 

On its opening day, the Tothova Lab welcomes our very first clinical fellow, Mounica Vallurupalli. She joins us from Dana Farber, where she is a clinical fellow in hematology-oncology. In the lab she will be studying the role of epigenetic alterations, including in the cohesin complex, in the development of leukemia as well as in mediating response and resistance to therapy.
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July 1, 2018 - Tothova Lab Opens!

July 1st marks the opening of the Tothova Lab. We are excited to open our lab at the Broad Institute, studying the epigenetic changes that contribute to various myeloid malignancies. 

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©2018 Zuzana Tothova at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute