Awards

National Academies - 2018

American Association for the Advancement of Science

About Claire E. Walczak

Claire E. Walczak is a 1993 Ph.D. graduate of the University Wisconsin. She has been honored with a Leukemia/Lymphoma Society Scholar Award and an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award as well as a Women in Cell Biology Junior Career Award from the American Society for Cell Biology. She served as a Council Member for the American Society for Cell Biology from 2014-2016. She was chosen as an Exemplar for Research in 2017 and was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2018.

The Walczak Lab studies the fundamental mechanisms that cells use to accurately distribute their genetic material to the two daughter cells. Defects in this process lead to aneuploidy and genomic instability, which are hallmarks of cancer. We have developed a model system to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which polyploid cell divisions lead to genomic instability. In addition, we are evaluating molecular targets that may be novel biomarkers for cancer progression and that may serve as new therapeutic targets.