Scientific Advisors:

Theodore Friedmann, M.D. (Chairman of Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, NIH)

Dr. Friedmann has spent his career developing the concepts and tools of human gene therapy. In 1972 he and one of his colleagues published a landmark paper which proposed the use of viruses to carry normal genes into defective cells and identified some of the medical, ethical and public policy problems posed by modern genetic technology. He and his colleagues have made many central technical contributions to the field of gene therapy, particularly the design and preparation of gene transfer virus vectors and their use in disease models to correct genetic defects in the brain and other organs. In 2002, Dr. Friedmann had been named chair of the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). RAC, a 21-member committee composed of scientists, clinical investigators, ethicists, and public policy experts, serves a critical role in the oversight of federally funded research involving recombinant DNA technology - the modification of organisms and tissue to express specific genes.

Ansuman Chattopadhyay, Ph.D. (Head, Molecular Biology Information Service at the Health Sciences LibrarySystem, University of Pittsburgh)

Ansuman Chattopadhyay has PhD in Biochemistry with extensive experience in signal transduction research using molecular biology approaches. He is currently working as Head, Molecular Biology Information Service at the Health Sciences LibrarySystem, University of Pittsburgh, where he has developed an information service program focused on the fields of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He offers hands on workshops in the use of molecular biology software and databases, provides consultation to research teams for questions related to bioinformatics resources, developed and maintains a web-based portal for molecular biology information. Dr. Chattopadhyay previously held positions in the Department of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine at Nashville, TN and Cellomics Inc., at Pittsburgh, PA

Vivek Mittal, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

We apply functional genomic approaches such as genome-wide transcription profiling and RNAi- mediated gene silencing to mouse models to dissect cellular pathways in cancer. We determine at the molecular and genetic level the mechanisms by which endothelial cells (ECs) neovascularize a tumor to support its continuous growth and metastasis.

Satchidananda Panda, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, The Salk Institute)

Satchidananda Panda, an assistant professor in the Regulatory Biology Laboratory, is interested in understanding the molecular mechanism of the biological clock in a mouse model system. The biological clock or circadian oscillator in most organisms coordinates behavior and physiology with the natural light-dark cycle. His laboratory uses genetic, genomics and biochemical approaches to identify genes under circadian regulation in different organs and to understand the mechanism of such regulation. His lab also tries to characterize the mechanism by which the circadian oscillator is synchronized to the natural light-dark condition. Both classical rod/cone photoreceptors and a newly identified ocular photopigment melanopsin participate in photoentrainment of the clock. Research in his lab is geared towards identifying molecular components and events critical for transmitting light information from the eye to the master oscillator in the brain.