David Breslow, Ph.D.

David Breslow is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University. David received an A.B. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University in 2004, working in the laboratory of Dr. Stuart Schreiber. David then did his graduate work at the University of California, San Francisco in Dr. Jonathan Weissman’s lab. There he developed new high-throughput functional genomic tools for budding yeast and defined the function of Orm family proteins in sphingolipid homeostasis. As a postdoctoral fellow, David worked with Dr. Maxence Nachury at Stanford University, where he used a semi-permeabilized cell system to study protein entry into primary cilia and developed a CRISPR/Cas9-based screening platform to investigate ciliary signaling. A central focus of David’s work has been applying new systematic approaches to address fundamental questions in cell biology, with a current emphasis on the regulation and functions of the mammalian primary cilium. David joined the Yale MCDB faculty in January 2017.

Research:
The primary cilium is a micron-scale structure protruding from the surface of most cells in the human body. Through functional screening, microscopy, and biochemistry, we are investigating the physiologic roles of primary cilia, the cellular processes that support these functions, and the disease states that result from errors in these processes. Current areas of interest include understanding how the cilium serves as an organizing center for select signaling pathways (e.g. Hedgehog signaling) and dissecting the interdependence between cell cycle progression and cilium assembly/disassembly.

Administrative Support: Susan Brady