Chemical Biology Program

The Yael David Lab

Yael David, PhD

Research efforts in the David lab apply core techniques in chemical biology, biochemistry, and cell biology to address fundamental questions in the epigenetic regulation of transcription. Epigenetic regulation relies on the dynamic modification of the two building blocks of chromatin: DNA and histone packaging proteins, to establish and maintain cell identity and fate. We develop and utilize chemical methods to synthesize site-specifically modified histones in vitro and in vivo and study the roles that these modifications play in disease states, with the ultimate goal of targeting them for therapeutics.

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Go inside the lab of Yael David from SKI’s Chemical Biology Program

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Featured News

MSK chemical biologist Yael David in her laboratory

At Work: Chemical Biologist Yael David

Meet Yael David, a chemical biologist with an interest in epigenetics.

In the Lab

Cellular “Garbage Collectors” Are Key to Cancer’s Growth

A new study suggests a way to target cancer by interfering with its system of waste removal.

Publications Highlights

Zheng Q, Omans ND, Leicher R, Osunsade A, Agustinus AS, Finkin-Groner E, D’Ambrosio H, Liu B, Chandarlapaty S, Liu S, David Y. Reversible histone glycation is associated with disease-related changes in chromatin architecture. Nat Commun. 2019 Mar 20;10(1):1289. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09192-z

Osunsade A, Prescott NA, Hebert JM, Ray DM and David Y. A Robust Method for the Purification and Characterization of the Human Histone H1 Variants. Biochemistry. 2018 Dec 26. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b01060.

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People

Yael David, PhD

Yael David’s lab develops and applies methods in chemical biology toward studying epigenetic regulation and its correlation with disease states.
Ph.D – The Weizmann Institute of Science
B.Sc SUNY Stony Brook

davidshy@mskcc.org: Email Address
646-888-2127: Office Phone
Download CV: PDF File

Members

Ifeh Akano
WCM Pharmacology Graduate Student

Brittney Bobowski

WCM Pharmacology Graduate Student

Sarah Faulkner

Research Fellow

Nicholas Prescott, Graduate Student — Nicholas Prescott
TPCB Graduate Student

Nicole Walker

TPCB Graduate student

Yang Xiao

TPCB Graduate student

Lab Alumni

Hannah D'Ambrosio

Research Assistant

Albert Agustinus, Research Technician — Albert Agustinus
Research Technician

Efrat Finkin, Research Associate — Efrat Finkin
Research Associate

Jakob Hebert, TPCB Graduate Student — Jakob Hebert
TPCB Graduate Student

Nathaniel Omans, Graduate Student — Nathaniel Omans
Rotation Student

Adewola Osunsade, TPCB Graduate Student — Adewola Osunsade
TPCB Graduate Student

Akhil Upad

Research Technician

Qingfei Zheng, Research Fellow — Qingfei Zheng
Research Fellow

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

Josie Robertson Investigator (2016-2021)
Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Alliance Award
Experimental Therapeutic Discovery Center grant
Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) Award
CEBRA award

Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Award
Star Cancer Consortium grant
The Center for Educational Resources Project Collaborative Grant
National Institute of General Medical Sciences grant

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs

Graduate Students & Post-Doctoral Fellows

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Yael David discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.

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