Steve Kron
Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology
Steve’s education and training at Penn, Stanford, and MIT were in biochemistry, bioengineering, biophysics, and genetics. Steve has published over a hundred papers and reviews, and is an inventor on multiple patents.
Email: skron@uchicago.edu
Office phone: 773-834-0250
Office mailing address: 929 E. 57th St., GCIS W522A, Chicago, IL 60637
Amy Flor
Senior Research Scientist, Lab Manager
Amy’s research focuses on investigating oxidative stress, DNA damage, and therapy-induced senescence in tumor cells induced by chemotherapy drugs and/or ionizing radiation, as well as characterizing the immune response induced by these cancer treatments. She also works with biotech collaborators to develop novel approaches to quantitative immunoassays, several of which have been granted US Patents and are currently in commercial development. As lab manager, Amy is responsible for daily operations of Kron Lab and is the primary contact for lab inquiries.
Email: flora@uchicago.edu
Lab phone: 773-834-0256
Lab mailing address: 929 E. 57th St, GCIS W519H, Chicago, IL 60637
Don Wolfgeher
Technical Director, UC Proteomics Core Facility
Don Wolfgeher has worked in Kron Lab and served as the Technical Director of the UC Proteomics Core Facility for over fifteen years. During this time, he has achieved a high level of expertise in a variety of mass spectrometry and proteomics techniques, including instrument operations and maintenance, proteomics user consultation and experiment planning, sample preparation, informatics, and data interpretation. He specializes in isotopic labeling quantitation techniques and post-translational modification (PTM) data interpretation.
Email: donw@uchicago.edu
Proteomics Core lab phone: 773-834-0256
Ding Wu
Senior Research Scientist
Ding’s current projects focus on applying system biology approaches to cancer research in two areas: 1) Studying gene patterns and transcriptomic profiles in senescent cells and the underlying mechanism of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP); and 2) Exploring and understanding tumor micro-environment by single-cell RNA-seq and flow cytometry, aiming to enhance anti-tumor immune response by exploiting DNA damage responses.
Elena Efimova
Research Professional
Sera Averbek
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Sera Averbek’s research mainly focuses on suppressing bone marrow failure from radiation injury and enhancing the quality of survival to protect cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy as well as military personnel or astronauts who are exposed to a sub-lethal doses of radiation.
Woo-Young Kim, PhD
Visiting Professor
Dr. Kim is a professor at Sookmyung Women’s University, College of Pharmacy, in Korea. He often visits the lab to perform collaborative research with Dr. Kron. The collaborative research includes the mehcniams of PARPi resistances in cancer cells and DNA DSB repair processes.
Lab Alumni
Tamica Collins
Post-Doctoral Scholar
Tamica Collins is a South Side of Chicago native and earned her PhD in Medical and Molecular Genetics from Indiana University School of Medicine. She has also obtained a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Jackson State University. Her current research aims to investigate the role of cancer metabolism in double stranded DNA break repair as well as targeting cancer metabolism in triple negative breast cancer. In addition, she is investigating the activation of the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway as a route to modulating senescence and preventing lung injury after exposure to radiation and other genotoxic stressors. She is a member of the University of Chicago Postdoctoral Association and serves as Vice President and Co-Chair of the outreach committee. Tamica enjoys teaching, mentoring, and creating science education and outreach opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women.
Joanna Pagacz
Research Technician