معرفی
Daniel R Foltz is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. He has been named director of the Walter S. and Lucienne Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences (DGP), beginning July 1, 2024. Dr. Foltz is also a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics.
Dr. Foltz earned his PhD from Northwestern University in 2001 and completed postdoctoral training at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in San Diego, CA. He returned to Northwestern in 2015 to join the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.
Dr. Foltz's research focuses on the fundamental question of how chromosomes are segregated during cell division to ensure accurate genome inheritance. His work explores how centromere specification is controlled, which has critical implications for cancer treatment as chromosome instability is a hallmark of cancer. He and his collaborators use a combination of cell biology, biochemical purification, genomics, and in vitro reconstitution of chromatin to discover the mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance across the cell cycle. His research program aims to determine the mechanism of epigenetic centromere inheritance, with a long-term goal of understanding its role in tumorigenesis and developing therapeutic approaches for proliferative diseases.
Dr. Foltz is actively involved in professional service, serving as Co-chair of the GRC - Centromere Biology Meeting (2024 - Present) and as an Editor for Molecular and Cellular Biology (2021 - Present). He is a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) since 2018 and the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) since 2006.
His research has resulted in numerous publications focusing on chromosome segregation, centromere biology, and epigenetic inheritance, with recent work exploring histone modifications, centromere assembly, and the relationship between chromosome instability and cancer. These publications demonstrate consistent contributions to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying chromosome stability and their implications for cancer biology.
