David Shechter

David Shechter is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His research focuses on understanding how protein modifications regulate gene expression through chromatin dynamics and RNA processing, with applications to cancer, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases like ALS. His work combines biochemistry, structural biology, and functional genomics approaches.

Research interests include post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as arginine methylation and glutamylation, particularly their roles in RNA-binding proteins and chromatin regulators. Key targets include PRMT1/5 enzymes involved in ALS pathogenesis and TTLL4-mediated glutamylation in AML. He also investigates GNMT's role in linking one-carbon metabolism to epigenetic control.

Recent studies explore therapeutic targeting of TTLL4 in AML and PRMTs in stress granule regulation. His lab employs biochemical assays, structural analysis, and cellular models to uncover mechanisms linking PTMs to disease. Work has been published in journals like bioRxiv, eLife, iScience, and Nature Communications.

No formal awards listed. Advising focuses on PhD students and postdocs working on chromatin/RNA projects. Laboratory operations emphasize collaborative research in epigenetic mechanisms and translational therapeutics.