Roger Greenberg

Roger Greenberg is the J. Samuel Staub, M.D. Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. He serves as Director of the Penn Center for Genome Integrity and Basic Science Director of the Basser Center for BRCA.

His educational background includes a BA in Chemistry from Haverford College (1991), and both an MD and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2000).

Dr. Greenberg's research focuses on understanding how chromatin responses to DNA damage impact genome integrity, cancer susceptibility, and response to anti-cancer therapy. His laboratory investigates BRCA1- and BRCA2-dependent homologous recombination mechanisms in breast and ovarian cancer, telomere length maintenance mechanisms that rely on specialized homologous recombination, and DNA damage-induced activation of immune responses to cancer. His work spans biochemistry, structural biology, cell biology, and genetically engineered mouse models.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on DNA repair mechanisms, particularly BRCA1/2-dependent pathways, with increasing emphasis on the connection between DNA damage response and immune signaling. His research has evolved from foundational work on BRCA1 ubiquitination to more recent investigations of chromatin dynamics, telomere maintenance, and therapeutic implications for cancer treatment.

• Saul Winegrad Award for best thesis (awarded to three of his students)

Dr. Greenberg has mentored numerous PhD students, with seven successfully completing their doctoral studies in his laboratory. His research has been supported by significant funding that has enabled the development of novel methodologies for real-time visualization of DNA repair processes and the identification of new breast cancer susceptibility genes. His work on biallelic BRCA1 mutations led to the designation of BRCA1 as FANCS, a new Fanconi Anemia subtype.

He leads the Greenberg Laboratory and the Penn Center for Genome Integrity, where his team investigates fundamental mechanisms of DNA repair and their impact on cancer etiology and treatment response. Current research directions include understanding how replication stress affects genome integrity, the role of chromatin structure in DNA repair pathway choice, and developing strategies to overcome resistance to PARP inhibitors in homologous recombination-deficient cancers.