David R. Bickers, M.D., Carl Truman Nelson Professor & Chairman, drb25@columbia.edu
Studies defining the role of exposure to environmental sunlight on the development of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in mouse models and human populations as well as identifying mechanism-based cancer chemopreventive agents.

Julide Tok-Celebi, M.D., jt165@columbia.edu
Studies focused on the genetic basis of atypical mole syndrome (AMS) by ascertaining families with this disorder, and identifying a locus for AMS through linkage analysis, and ultimately identifying a candidate gene for AMS.

Angela M. Christiano, Ph.D., amc65@columbia.edu
Studies of inherited skin and hair disorders in humans, through a classical genetic approach including genetic linkage, gene discovery and mutation analysis, and most recently, functional studies relating these findings back to basic questions in epidermal biology. A long-range goal of the research is to develop rationally designed genetic therapies for skin and hair diseases by understanding underlying pathogenetic mechanisms.

Karima Djabali, Ph.D., kd206@columbia.edu
Studies the pathophysiological mechanisms of premature aging using human genetic diseases.

Arianna L. Kim, Ph.D., ak309@columbia.edu
Studies focused on the pathogenesis of solar ultraviolet-induced skin cancers and identifying cell growth regulators that their growth. Also studying the mechanism of senescence pathway in cancer cells and their role in inhibitingtumor growth.

Rebecca Morris, Ph.D., rm2046@columbia.edu
Studies defining the role of epidermal and hair follicle stem cells in skin cancer pathogenesis.
Living hair follicle stem cells can be selected by their expression of various biomarkers.

David M. Owens, Ph.D., do2112@columbia.edu
Studies defining the role of stem cells and differentiated cells in the development of epidermal skin cancer both in terms of tumor cell growth and the role of the underlying stroma in tumor growth and metastases.

Andrei Panteleyev, Ph.D., ap374@columbia.edu
Understanding the mechanisms of hair growth control.

Srikala Raghavan, Ph.D., sr2309@columbia.edu
Studies the role of integrins in skin and oral epithelia.and their importance in basement membrane (BM) assembly using conditional gene ablation as well as cells in culture. Intact BM is essential for normal tissue homeostasis and in epithelial-mesenchymal transitions.