Molecular Biology Program

The Scott Keeney Lab

Research

Pictured: Dr. Scott Keeney
Scott Keeney, PhD
Member, Molecular Biology Program, SKI; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Frederick R. Adler Chair

The long-range objectives of our research are to understand the mechanism of meiotic recombination and to determine how this process is coordinated with other events of meiotic prophase. Several projects in the lab focus on Spo11 (the protein that makes the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that initiate recombination), the proteins that interact with Spo11, the interactions of these proteins with meiotic chromosomes, and the mechanisms that regulate the timing, number, and location of DSB formation. We also study how DSBs are processed and repaired and we are seeking to expand knowledge of meiotic processes more generally through discovery of new genes important for germ cell function. Most of the meiosis research in the lab uses the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the mouse. Finally, our studies of Spo11 have also provided an entry point to research on the DSBs made by the enzyme Topoisomerase II when it is inhibited by chemotherapeutic agents such as etoposide or doxorubicin.

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Research Projects

Scott Keeney Lab Group

Publications Highlights

People

Pictured: Dr. Scott Keeney

Scott Keeney, PhD

Member, Molecular Biology Program, SKI; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Frederick R. Adler Chair

  • Molecular biologist Scott Keeney investigates mechanisms of the initiation of meiotic recombination.
  • PhD, University of California, Berkeley
[email protected]
Email Address
212-639-5182
Office Phone
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Members

Naima Akter

MSK Bridge Program Scholar

Meret Arter
Meret Arter

Research Associate

Jian Chen

Senior Research Scientist

Momar Diop

Research Technician

Riley Eastmond

Research Technician

Tao Li
Tao Li

Senior Research Scientist

Kaixian Liu
Kaixian Liu

Research Associate

Min Lu
Min Lu

Research Associate

Marina Marcet
Marina Marcet

Senior Research Scientist

Thierry N’Tumba-Byn

Research Specialist

David Ontoso

Research Specialist

Yuichiro Saito
Yuichiro Saito

Research Specialist

Aidin Shabro

Lab Manager

Yan Wang

Research Scholar

Lyuqin Zheng

Research Scholar

Zhi (Zack) Zheng

Graduate Student

Lab Alumni
Laurent Acquaviva
Laurent Acquaviva

Research Fellow

Esther de Boer

Research Fellow

James Dowdle

Medical Science Liaison, United Therapeutics Corporation

Sam Globus

Graduate Student

Liisa Kauppi

Research Fellow

Ryan Kniewel

Graduate Student

Mariko Sasaki

Graduate Student

Corentin Claeys Bouuaert

Research Fellow

Erman Karasu
Mehmet Erman Karasu

Postdoctoral Researcher at ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Sarah Kim, PhD
Sarah Kim

Research Fellow

Isabel Lam
Isabel Lam

Graduate Student

Julian Lange

Research Fellow

Monika Mehta

Research Fellow

Eleni Mimitou

Research Fellow

Neeman Mohibullah
Neeman Mohibullah

Research Fellow

Hajime Murakami

Senior Research Scientist

Jodi-Ann Sampson

Research Technician

Drew Thacker

Graduate Student

Sam Tischfield

Graduate Student

Luis Torres

Research Technician

Megan van Overbeek, PhD
Megan van Overbeek

Research Associate

Xuan Zhu
Xuan Zhu

Graduate Student

Michiel Boekhout

Research Fellow

George Chung

Postdoctoral Fellow

Diana Yeelam Eng

Research Technician

Pei-Ching (Peggy) Huang

Graduate Student

Devanshi Jain, PhD
Devanshi Jain

Research Fellow

Erman Karasu, Research Fellow
Erman Karasu

Research Fellow

Soonjoung Kim
Xiaojing Mu
Xiaojing Mu

Weill Graduate Student

Stephen Pu

Research Technician

Denise Ramirez
Jacquelyn Song

Research Technician

Éva Viola Surányi
Éva Viola Surányi
Manoj Thakur
Manoj Thakur

Research Fellow

Jiaqi Xu
Jiaqi Xu

Graduate Student

Shintaro Yamada
Shintaro Yamada

Visiting Investigator

Charanjit Arora

Graduate Research Assistant

Robert Diaz
Monica DiGiacomo

Research Fellow

Kiersten Henderson

Graduate Research Assistant

Kehkooi Kee
Shohreh Maleki

Research Fellow

Emmanuelle Martini
Matthew Neale
Takashi Okada

Research Fellow

Jing Pan

Research Fellow

Ignasi Roig

Research Fellow

Vijayalakshmi Subramanian

Research Fellow

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

  • Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2008)
  • American Academy of Microbiology (2014)
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2017)
  • Frederick Adler Chair, MSKCC (2017)
  • US National Academy of Sciences (2020)

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

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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.

Scott Keeney discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Abbott Laboratories
    Equity
  • AbbVie
    Equity
  • Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Pfizer, Inc.
    Equity
  • Repare Therapeutics
    Equity
  • Viatris Inc.
    Equity

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 [email protected].


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