Dr. Megan McNerney is a Molecular Pathologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology, Division of Genomic and Molecular Pathology, and the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology/Oncology.  She is a member of the University of Chicago NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and serves as the Medical Scientist Training Program Associate Director of Admissions.  Dr. McNerney received her B.A. at Northwestern University and M.D., Ph.D., and residency training at the University of Chicago.  The overarching goal of the McNerney lab is to understand the pathobiology of high-risk myeloid neoplasms to uncover new treatments and prevention strategies for these patients.  One area of focus is myeloid neoplasms with deletion of all or part of chromosome 7.  The McNerney lab has employed an arsenal of innovative wet- and dry-lab approaches to interrogate chromosome 7 tumor suppressor genes, including CRISPR screening, data-mining, machine learning, pre-clinical mouse models, and functional genomics.  This work has uncovered the CUX1 transcription factor as a critical regulator of hematopoietic stem cell function and myeloid transformation.  Her 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 after chemotherapy.  This work supports a paradigm shift in understanding clonal selection as part of the etiology of therapy-related myeloid neoplasms.  Moreover, her studies have established a precedent for investigating recurrent aneuploidy events in cancer more generally.  Dr. McNerney has been recognized by several awards, most recently the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar award, the Pediatric Cancer Research – V Scholar All Star Award, and the university-wide Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring.