Read named co-leader of Winship’s CMB Research Program
Winship researcher Renee Read, PhD, has been named co-leader of the Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
Emory University neurobiologist Renee Read, PhD, has been named co-leader of the Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Read succeeds Cheng-Kui Qu, MD, PhD, and will serve alongside Wei Zhou, PhD, who has co-led the CMB Program since its founding in 2020.
The CMB Program comprises a cadre of investigators who study the biological processes relevant to cancer and work to translate discoveries into improved patient care. As co-leader, Read will work closely with Zhou to oversee the CMB Program’s continued growth and efforts to enhance the scientific impact of Winship’s research on its catchment area and beyond. She will play a key role in strategic development, membership activities, pilot funding, research opportunities and other initiatives aligned with Winship’s mission and strategic plan and in support of the program’s goals.
“Dr. Read is an outstanding scientist who has had a significant impact on scholarship, teaching and service across Emory,” says Winship Executive Director Suresh Ramalingam, MD, FACP, FASCO. “I’m delighted to welcome her to the CMB Program leadership team.”
Read, who joined the Emory faculty in 2012, is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Emory University School of Medicine, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology. She has also served as Winship’s assistant director for basic research and shared resources.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense, her research investigates the cellular origins and genetic and epigenetic basis of glioblastomas, with the goal of developing new therapeutic strategies for these tumors. Discoveries from Read’s lab have led to important advances in the clinic, including first-in-human glioblastoma clinical trials of the drug verteporfin, which her lab has identified as a potential therapeutic that targets epigenetic vulnerabilities within glioblastoma propagating cells.
“CMB Program investigators are making groundbreaking discoveries that are life-changing for people impacted by cancer,” says Read. “I’m honored to co-lead the program with Dr. Zhou and to support the efforts of this extraordinary group.”