September 2020 - Tothova Lab Welcomes Margaret ZimmerWe 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 WangWe 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 WheelerWe 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 FlorenceWe 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 seriesWe 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 BeccaWe 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 MillsonWe 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 DoyleWe 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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January 2020 - Tothova lab welcomes Florence VerbeekWe 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 SantaOur annual tradition. A few gifts remained to be found at the reveal party.
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December 2019 - ASH annual meetingMounica 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 LinWe 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 WalkThe 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 GolanWe 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 MaronWe 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 AwardWe 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 TellezToday, 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 yearWe 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 FoundationWe 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 AwardWe 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 MaronToday, 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 AwardWe 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! |
March 2019 - Ski tripOur winter getaway to Cranmore Mountain, NH.
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Birthday celebrations 2018-2019Aaaand... 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 AnastasiaToday, 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 RiverThe 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 KikiTo 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 TishenaToday, 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 GorelovToday, 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 VallurupalliOn its opening day, the Tothova Lab welcomes its first postdoc, 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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