Overview

Welcome to the Department of Cell Biology's website. The Department is home to a multidisciplinary team of scientists who are investigating multiple aspects of basic cell and developmental biology with a wide array of state-of-the-art experimental techniques. Research areas include cell signaling, regulation of cell division and apoptosis, intracellular membrane and protein trafficking, angiogenesis, vascular biology, oxidative stress, regulation of gene expression, RNA structure and function, cytoskeletal-extracellular matrix interactions, and lipid and lipoprotein structural biology and metabolism. Reflecting the strong traditions of Cleveland Clinic, many programs include translational components related to human diseases, including atherosclerosis, cardiac ischemia, Alzheimer's disease, renal diseases and cancer. Although diverse in topic areas, members of the Department's 21 laboratories engage in intensive interactions and collaborations, as evidenced by numerous co-authored publications and NIH-sponsored Program Projects.

You will see as you browse our site that this is an extraordinarily vibrant department that has undergone significant growth in recent years. Recruits over the last ~8 years include Dr. Thomas McIntyre from the University of Utah School of Medicine, Dr. Andrea Ladd from Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Alan Zhu from Stanford University, Dr. Ofer Reizes from Proctor and Gamble Research Labs in Cincinnati, Dr. Thomas Egelhoff from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Dr. Oliver Wessely from LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, and most recently Dr. Justin Lathia, who joins us after training at NIH, Cambridge University, Duke University, and in the Institute's own Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

These recruitments along with some inter-departmental shuffling at the Institute that brought Drs. Veronique Lefebvre and Damir Janigro to our Department have dramatically changed the face of our Department. The biggest recent change in the department landscape is the move of Dr. Roy Silverstein, our former Chair who led the recent expansions, to become Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Silverstein will remain Adjunct Staff in the Department. Cleveland Clinic has assembled a search committee, and a national search is in progress with the goal of recruiting another high-caliber scientist to lead the continuing development of this outstanding Department.

The Department of Cell Biology has an active training program at both the pre- and postdoctoral levels. Most faculty members have joint appointments at Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, or Cleveland State University and are actively involved in training PhD candidate graduate students. The Molecular Medicine PhD program is directed by the Department's Dr. Jonathan Smith and supported by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. We also serve as the Cleveland Clinic "home" for the interdepartmental Cell Biology PhD program at Case. Currently, more than a dozen doctoral students are performing their thesis research in the department. In addition, many undergraduate science students perform research projects in laboratories of the department. Some students are here for the summer from universities throughout the US; others from area institutions train here during the academic year. Postdoctoral fellows represent an integral part of the research effort in every laboratory in the Department. Currently, more than 50 Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Associates and Project Scientists are being mentored.

Departmental faculty is enthusiastically involved in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University (CCLCM). Our faculty has taken a leadership role in many aspects of this unique venture, including admissions, curriculum design and implementation, and service as research advisors for both the first-year summer program and the full-year thesis program.

The Department is housed within the Institute along with nine other basic science departments, the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, the Center for Clinical Research, and an extensive, state-of-the-art infrastructure of core research facilities, which are subsidized by the Institute. Cleveland Clinic in recent years has expanded its programs in basic and translational research, including the creation of the two new departments of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Human Genetics and Genomics. The Institute has more than 130 independent research laboratories, over 1,000 personnel, and a research budget of about $150 million. In addition, many investigators benefit from fruitful collaborations with faculty from the world-class clinical departments at Cleveland Clinic. Communication among the members of the department and others in the research community is fostered by a large number of weekly seminar series, Lab Updates, Journal Clubs, the biennial Cell Biology Retreat and the annual Institute Retreat.

Please enjoy looking over our website and feel free to contact me, other faculty, or any of our Department's personnel if we can answer your questions and send specific information to you.

Tom Egelhoff, Ph.D.
Interim Chair, Department of Cell Biology
Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine,
Case Western Reserve University