Regular biography
Ali Shilatifard is a Joint Professor with the Feinberg School of Medicine and holds a Courtesy Appointment in Chemistry at Northwestern University's Department of Chemistry. His research focuses on epigenetics, particularly its role in cancer, with a focus on leukemia. His work has contributed to the understanding of mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) translocation partners and their function in chromosomal mutations. His laboratory is developing epigenetic target-specific drugs for childhood leukemia and other cancers, with ongoing clinical testing. His research is supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the American Cancer Society. He is also deeply involved in mentoring and education, having taught at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for 16 years.
Scholar-generated biography
Ali Shilatifard is a professor and chairman of Biochemistry, and director of the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics. His research focuses on epigenetics, chromatin structure, transcription, and gene expression. He investigates how chromatin modifications, such as methylation and ubiquitination, regulate gene expression and contribute to development and disease. His work includes studies on the COMPASS complex, histone modifications, and their roles in transcriptional elongation. Shilatifard's research also explores the interplay between chromatin dynamics and cellular processes, including lung fibrosis and SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. His contributions highlight the importance of epigenetic mechanisms in health and disease.