معرفی
Sarah Aitken is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at Yale School of Medicine and a member of the Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology (CMCO) at Yale Cancer Center. She leads the Aitken Lab, which specializes in genomic pathology, combining molecular biology, genomics, and image analysis to study DNA damage, mutagenesis, and cancer evolution. Her work bridges clinical pathology and computational biology, with a focus on gastrointestinal and molecular pathology.
Her educational journey includes an MBChB and BMedSci from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Translational Medicine, and a PhD from the CRUK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge. She completed her clinical training in Histopathology as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow and Clinical Lecturer, earning FRCPath certification. She was previously an independent Group Leader and Consultant Pathologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr. Aitken’s research centers on the earliest stages of cancer formation, particularly DNA lesion segregation—a phenomenon her lab discovered that drives genetic diversity in daughter cells. Her lab investigates how persistent DNA lesions contribute to somatic mosaicism, tumor initiation, and evolution across tissues. Her work employs genomic pathology, spatial transcriptomics, and computational modeling in both experimental and clinical contexts.
Her recent publications, primarily in high-impact journals like Nature and PNAS, reveal trends in DNA repair dynamics, mutagenesis, cancer genome evolution, and AI applications in pathology. These works span subfields including strand-resolved mutagenicity, transcription-coupled repair, somatic mutation convergence in liver disease, and AI-based tumor grading, reflecting a strong interdisciplinary and translational focus.
- CRUK Clinician Scientist Fellowship (2023)
- Sir Nicholas Wright Lecture and Medal (2021)
- Gold Research Medal, Royal College of Pathologists (2019)
- Trainee Research Award, Pathological Society of Great Britain & Ireland (2018)
Dr. Aitken mentors a multidisciplinary team of computational, experimental, and clinical scientists. Her lab receives significant research funding, including the CRUK Clinician Scientist Fellowship, supporting her work on DNA damage and cancer genomics. She collaborates extensively within Yale Cancer Center and with international institutions. While specific grant amounts are not listed, her fellowship and independent group leader status indicate sustained competitive funding.
She leads the Aitken Lab at Yale, a dynamic research environment integrating wet-lab experiments, bioinformatics, and clinical pathology. The lab is part of the Center of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, fostering collaboration across molecular oncology, genomics, and precision medicine initiatives at Yale Cancer Center.
