Personnel

James E. Rothman, Ph.D.
Executive Director

James E. Rothman, Ph.D., Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Chemistry, Professor and Chair of Cell Biology, is Executive Director of the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Dr. Rothman's pioneering research in cell biology has been recognized by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1993). He has also received numerous international awards, including the Lasker Award in 2002. Dr. Rothman's broad and deep knowledge regarding cell biology aids the Center to develop and implement assays and processes that are at the forefront of science today.

Lars J. Brandén, Ph.D.
Director

Lars J. Brandén, Ph.D., serves as the Director of the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Dr. Brandén received his undergraduate degree in molecular genetics from the University of Lund, Sweden, and completed his doctoral studies in cell and molecular biology at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, under the guidance of Professor C.I. Edvard Smith. He pursued a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Laboratory of Cellular Biochemistry & Biophysics at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, under the direction of James E. Rothman, Ph.D.

Deborah H. Smith, Ph.D.
Director of Investigational Technologies

Deborah H. Smith, Ph.D., serves as Director of Investigational Technologies for The Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. After earning a B.A. in chemistry from Oberlin College and an M.S. in bio-organic chemistry from New York University, she carried out her doctoral studies at the N.Y.U. Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences in cellular and molecular biology under the guidance of Edward Ziff, Ph.D. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the laboratory of Elizabeth Lacy, Ph.D.

Steven Berman, MPH
Operations Manager

Steven Berman, MPH, serves as the Operations Manager for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Mr. Berman conducted his undergraduate studies in molecular and cell biology at Cornell University and his graduate work in health policy and management at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He previously served at Columbia University for four years as the Senior Laboratory Safety Officer and brings knowledge of regulatory and management practices to the team.

Adrian Poffenberger, M.S.
Director of Informatics

Adrian Poffenberger, M.S., serves as the Director of Informatics for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Mr. Poffenberger completed undergraduate studies in chemistry and mathematics at Shepherd University and completed graduate studies in biology at Hood College. Advanced training in informatics has included additional work at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Mr. Poffenberger possesses recognized expertise in the areas of cheminformatics and high throughput screening with 14 years of experience in drug discovery research as a scientist and informatics manager at Southern Research Institute and more recently at the Columbia University Genome Center.

Michael Wyler, M.S.
Director of Assay Development

Michael Wyler, M.S., serves as the Director of Assay Development for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Mr. Wyler received his Bachelors degree in biology from the State University of New York in Albany, New York and earned his Masters degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from Hunter College, New York, New York. His career began working in the lab of Kathryn Anderson at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center focusing on identification of mutations in genes responsible for mouse embryonic development, after which he spent a year of study in the developmental genetics Ph.D. program at the NYU School of Medicine. Michael joined the team in 2002 as part of the Functional Proteomics Project at MSKCC and was the Associate Director of Assay Development for the MLSCN at Columbia University.

Ashima Bhan, Ph.D.
Senior Cell Culture Biologist

Ashima Bhan, Ph.D., serves the Senior Cell Culture Biologist at the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Dr. Bhan completed her doctoral studies in preventive toxicology at Vikram University, M.P. India. She pursued her first postdoctoral studies in developmental and reproductive toxicology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH), Mumbai, India. Dr. Bhan pursued her second postdoctoral studies at the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center. She conducted studies on breast cancer and spermatogenesis using human breast epithelial cells (normal and cancerous) and animal models.

Trisha D'Errico, B.S.
Administrator

Trisha D'Errico, B.S., serves as the Administrator for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Ms. D'Errico received her degree in management from Southern Connecticut State University. She has been with Yale University since 2001, where she started as the Administrator in Internal Medicine for the Sections of Rheumatology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases and The Aids Program.

Marie-Aude Guié, M.S.
Research Informatics Scientist

Marie-Aude Guié, M.S., serves as the Research Informatics Scientist for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Ms. Guié received her undergraduate degree in physiology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and her graduate degree in computer science from The Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

Jason Ignatius, B.S.
Automation Integration Specialist

Jason Ignatius, B.S., serves as the Automation Integration Specialist for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. He conducted his undergraduate studies in computer science at Southern Connecticut State University and has over nine years experience in the software industry, ranging from academic to corporate environments.

Leena Kuruvilla, Ph.D.
Assay Development Scientist

Leena Kuruvilla, Ph.D., serves as the Assay Development Scientist for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. She received her Ph.D. in cardiovascular sciences from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, India. She conducted research on endocardial signaling pathways regulating cardiac interstitium and the role of endocardium in ventricular remodeling. Her first postdoctoral research was at Columbia University Medical Center, exploring the signaling cascades involved in diabetes related atherosclerosis in mouse and cell-culture models.

Lori Ortoleva-Donnelly, B.S.
Biology Automation Specialist

Lori Ortoleva-Donnelly, B.S., serves as the Biology Automation Specialist for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. She conducted her undergraduate studies in biology at Southern Connecticut State University and has over twelve years experience in research industry, ranging from large scale pharmaceutical organizations to startup biotechnology firms. Her primary expertise is in molecular biology, biochemical assay development, and optimization.

Michael P. Richo
Informatics Resource Specialist

Michael P. Richo serves as the Informatics Resource Specialist for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Mr. Richo attended Southern Connecticut State University and has ten years experience in systems support for commercial, governmental, and academic environments.

Yan Song, M.D.
Investigational Technologies Scientist

Yan Song, M.D., serves as the Investigational Technologies Scientist for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. She received her degree from Shanxi Medical University, P.R. China and has more than 10 years of research experience at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and Columbia University Medical School. Her primary research foci have been immunology, molecular epidemiology, and the genetic basis of disease.

Laurie Tomei
Senior Administrative Assistant

Laurie Tomei serves as the Senior Administrative Assistant for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology supporting Dr. Lars Branden. She has worked on the West Campus for more than 10 years for Bayer Healthcare before joining Yale University.

Phil H. Williams, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics Investigator

Phil H. Williams, Ph.D., serves as the Bioinformatics Investigator for the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology. Dr. Williams earned his undergraduate degree in biological sciences with a minor in chemistry from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He received an M.S. in applied science instrumentation from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock before completing his doctoral studies in the joint University Of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bioinformatics Program.

Our Mission
The goal of the Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology is to provide the expertise, technology, and resources needed to advance the fields of molecular and cellular biology. Our current focus on RNAi screening underscores our commitment to the principle that probing the details of cell signaling by modulating gene expression will elucidate the mechanisms for life, disease, and death.

About Us