Molecular Pharmacology Program

The Richard Kolesnick Lab

Research

Pictured: Richard Kolesnick
Richard N. Kolesnick, MD

Our laboratory focuses on the role of sphingolipid signaling as a stress response. In this pathway, generation of the second messenger ceramide in response to diverse environmental and pharmacologic stresses (heat, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet light, chemotherapeutic agents, oxidative challenges, etc.) occurs either by degradation of sphingomyelin or by de novo synthesis. The quality and quantity of the ceramide response, in combination with other signals, determines whether adaptation or apoptosis ensues. This pathway is evolutionarily conserved and is obligate for the heat shock response in yeast.

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Research Projects

Richard Kolesnick Lab Group

Publications Highlights

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People

Pictured: Richard Kolesnick

Richard N. Kolesnick, MD

  • Physician-scientist Richard Kolesnick studies the role of ceramide signaling in radiation-induced vascular dysfunction and tumor regression.
  • MD, University of Chicago School of Medicine
[email protected]
Email Address
646-888-2174
Office Phone
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Physician profile

Members

Jin Cheng
Jin Cheng

Visiting Research Scientist

Regina Feldman, MD
Regina Feldman

Senior Research Technician

Sahra Bodo, PhD
Sahra Bodo

Research Fellow

Skyla Duncan
Skyla Duncan
Zeinab Fereshteh

Research Fellow

Charles Ferranti
Charles Ferranti

Research Fellow

Aditya Ganju, PhD
Aditya Ganju

Research Fellow

Kuo Shun Hsu, PhD
Kuo Shun Hsu

Research Fellow

Stefan Klingler, PhD
Stefan Klingler

Research Fellow

Christy Li
Christy Li

Graduate Student

Hilda Polanco

SKI Administrative Assistant

Tambudzai Shamu, MPhil
Tambudzai Shamu

Laboratory Manager

Liyang Zhao
Liyang Zhao

Research Fellow

Lab Alumni
Lab Affiliations

Open Positions

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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.

Richard N. Kolesnick discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Ceramedix
    Equity; Intellectual Property Rights

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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