Megan McNerney, M.D., Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Dept. of Pathology and Dept. of Pediatrics, Hematology/Oncology
Faculty Associate Director of Curriculum, Medical Scientist Training Program
Assistant Program Leader of the Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer Program, The University of Chicago NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center
Megan received her B.A. at Northwestern University and M.D. and Ph.D. at The University of Chicago. As an Immunology Ph.D. student in the lab of Vinay Kumar, she studied how natural killer cells eliminate tumor cells, and discovered a novel system of natural killer cell inhibition. She completed her postdoctoral work in Kevin White’s laboratory within the Institute of Genomics and Systems Biology at The University of Chicago, where she characterized the genetic abnormalities in high-risk myeloid neoplasms. Megan is board-certified in Clinical Pathology and is an Attending in the Genomic and Molecular Pathology lab, which is applying next-generation sequencing in clinical diagnostics for oncology patients.
The McNerney lab is investigating the pathobiology of high-risk myeloid neoplasms, particularly those that have lost all or part of chromosome 7. Her lab has employed an arsenal of innovative wet and dry-lab approaches to interrogate 7q tumor suppressor genes. This work has uncovered the CUX1 transcription factor as a critical regulator of hematopoiesis. The McNerney lab demonstrated that pre-existing CUX1-deficiency, in the context of clonal hematopoiesis, disrupts the epigenetic regulation of DNA repair and sensitizes mice to therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN) after chemotherapy, supporting a paradigm shift in understanding the etiology of t-MN. Ongoing work includes determining the mechanistic role of CUX1 in development and gene expression, and how 7q tumor suppressor genes cooperate in leukemogenesis.
Training
Northwestern University B.A. 1999 Molecular & Cell Biology
The University of Chicago Ph.D. 2005 Immunology
The University of Chicago M.D. 2007 Medicine
The University of Chicago Residency 2010 Clinical Pathology
The University of Chicago Postdoctoral 2014 Genomics and Systems Biology
Honors
1996-1999 Dean’s List, Northwestern University
1997 Second Place Award for Undergraduate Program Poster, Northwestern University
1997 Edgar Macey Scholarship for Summer Research, Northwestern University
1999 Graduation with Departmental Honors, Biological Sciences, Northwestern University
1999 Graduation Cum Laude, Northwestern University
2000-2007 Medical Scientist Training Program, NIH
2003 Best Graduate Student Poster, Committee on Immunology Retreat, University of Chicago
2003-2007 Elaine Frank Family Fellowship for Medical Research, MSTP, University of Chicago
2004 Doolittle-Harrison Travel Fellowship, University of Chicago
2004 Best Oral Presentation, International NK Cell Workshop, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands
2005 Robert E. Priest Pathology Merit Award, Department of Pathology, University of Chicago
2006 Committee on Immunology Best PhD Thesis Award, University of Chicago
2006 Honorable Mention Best PhD Dissertation Award, Biological Sciences, University of Chicago
2007 Leon Jacobson Prize for Senior Scientific Presentation, Pritzker School of Medicine
2009 Resident Research Grant, College of American Pathologists
2010 Robert W. Wissler Fellowship Award, Department of Pathology, University of Chicago
2010 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Fellow Award
2013 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Illinois Chapter Researcher of the Year
2013 Evans Travel Award, FASEB Hematologic Malignancies Science Research Conference
2014 “V” Foundation in Cancer Research Scholar Award
2017 FASEB Hematologic Malignancies Conference Mini-Talk Award
2017 American Society of Hematology Junior Faculty Scholar Award
2019 American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award
2020 Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring
2022 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar Award
2023 Pediatric Cancer Research – V Scholar All Star Award