Craig J Ceol

Craig J Ceol, PhD, is an Associate Professor at UMass Chan Medical School in the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, affiliated with the Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology department. He also holds appointments in the Program in Molecular Medicine, Cancer Biology, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, MD/PhD Program, Millennium MD/PhD Program, and Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology programs.

• Education: B.S./M.S. in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry from Yale University
• Ph.D. in Biology from MIT (2002)

Dr. Ceol's research focuses on genetic regulators of melanoma formation using zebrafish models. His lab identifies:

• Mutations in the Ras/ERK signaling pathway and BRAF in melanoma development
• Cooperating genetic alterations that transform benign nevi into malignant melanoma
• SETDB1 as a novel melanoma oncogene related to chromatin methylation
• Roles of BMP signaling and cell subpopulations in tumor maintenance

His 15 most recent publications (2019-2024) span cancer biology, cell biology, and molecular biology, with particular emphasis on:

• Zebrafish as a platform for oncogene discovery
• Genomic instability and cytokinesis suppression in melanoma
• Heterotypic tumor cell interactions and collective migration
• Epigenetic hallmarks like loss of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine

Scientific awards include:

• Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellowship
• Charles A. King Trust Fellowship
• NIH Pathway to Independence Award

Dr. Ceol maintains active research in:

• Zebrafish cancer modeling for melanoma diagnostics
• Identifying therapeutic targets through chromatin modifiers
• Training researchers via his MD/PhD program involvement