Scott Keeney

Scott Keeney is a Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine's Graduate School of Medical Sciences and a Member of the Molecular Biology Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI). He holds the prestigious position of Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the Frederick R. Adler Chair at MSKCC. His laboratory is part of the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, where he mentors numerous graduate students and research scientists.

Dr. Keeney earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. His research program focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of meiotic recombination, with particular emphasis on the Spo11 protein that initiates DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) during meiosis. His laboratory investigates how Spo11 and associated proteins interact with meiotic chromosomes, the regulation of DSB formation timing and location, and how these processes are coordinated with other events of meiotic prophase. The lab also studies the DSBs generated by Topoisomerase II when inhibited by chemotherapeutic agents like etoposide or doxorubicin, bridging basic research with potential cancer therapy applications.

Analysis of Dr. Keeney's recent publications reveals a strong focus on structural characterization of the meiotic recombination machinery, particularly the Spo11 core complex and Rec114-Mei4 trimer interface. His work increasingly employs advanced techniques including cryo-EM to visualize protein-DNA interactions at high resolution. The research spans multiple model organisms including Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) and mouse, with implications for understanding human fertility and cancer biology.

• Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2008)
• American Academy of Microbiology (2014)
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2017)
• Frederick Adler Chair, MSKCC (2017)
• US National Academy of Sciences (2020)

Dr. Keeney's laboratory maintains active collaborations and substantial grant funding, including multiple NIH grants (R35 GM136686, P30 CA008748, RM1 GM145397) and HHMI support. His lab has trained numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have gone on to successful careers in academia and industry. Current research directions include understanding how meiotic DNA break machinery is seeded on chromosome axes and how chromatin remodeling influences DNA break resection.

The Keeney Lab consists of approximately 20 members including graduate students, research technicians, senior research scientists, and postdoctoral researchers. The team employs a diverse array of techniques including yeast and mouse genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, and single-molecule imaging to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of meiotic recombination.