Michelle Farkas
Associate Professor
Lab: Life Science Laboratories, N530
Condensed Biography:
DOD-BCRP Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (2010–2013)
Ph.D. California Institute of Technology (2010)
B.A. Wellesley College (2001)
Affiliations:
Faculty, Graduate Program in Molecular & Cellular Biology
Faculty, Center for Bioactive Delivery, Institute for Applied Life Sciences
Faculty, Models to Medicine, Institute for Applied Life Sciences
Research Interests:
Research in the Farkas group involves the development and use of molecular tools to track and perturb dynamic biological systems, including circadian rhythms and macrophage phenotypes, in the context of cancer. We are also generating cell-based vehicles for the delivery of therapeutic, sensing, and imaging agents. Our work occurs at the interface of chemistry and cancer biology, and spans multiple disciplines, including chemical biology, synthetic chemistry, cell biology, and molecular imaging.
Our projects are broadly based in three different areas: (1) correlation of cancer aggression and altered circadian rhythms by generating reporters to follow rhythms and using agents modulate them; (2) studies of the associations of macrophages and cancer by tracking changes in macrophage subtype, and development of entities for re-polarizing them; and (3) generation of new delivery systems by using chemically-modified cells. All of our research is intended to not only provide additional understanding of the disease, but to develop new means to diagnose and treat it.