Carla Finkielstein, Ph.D.
“For years now, we biologists have been working tirelessly to understand the processes that lead to cancer development and progression. We’ve elucidated the molecular basis by which cells grow, divide, talk to each other, relate to the environment, and die. However, it has not been enough to cure cancer. Now is the time to do something different. We need to branch out to other disciplines and tackle this problem through interdisciplinary efforts.”
Connecting scientific disciplines to cure cancer
Does the body's internal clock hamper the effectiveness of radiation therapy?
Finkielstein’s lab studies the molecular clocks that tell cells when it’s time to grow, divide, and die. Cells in our body have a predictable 24-hour cycle of division that is regulated by a mix of genetic and environmental cues, such as exposure to light, temperature, and hormone levels. At around sunset every day, freshly divided daughter cells undergo rigorous review, during which DNA replication is completed and an average of 20,000 daily mutations are repaired.
When a cell’s repair system is impaired, cancerous mutations accumulate – particularly if those mutations involve the network of genes that regulate cellular repair and tumor suppression. These mutations disrupt the clock mechanism that keeps cells running in a 24-hour cycle and, as a result, cell division occurs at unscheduled times throughout the day. Left unchecked, cancerous cells are permitted to grow and divide at their own pace, resulting in tumors.
In a series of studies by the Finkielstein lab, her team reported the unexpected link between a key circadian protein responsible for keeping the cell’s molecular clock running, a tumor suppressor molecule that makes sure cells do not carry harmful mutations when they divide, and an oncogene that influences the speed of the cell’s clock. These findings emphasize the important relationship between the molecular circadian clock and key catalysts involved in cancer initiation and progression.
Finkielstein’s research offers a critical foundation for the emerging field of chronotherapeutics – the study of time-of-day medicine. This new discipline integrates the cellular and molecular biology of circadian rhythms to inform decision-making about when a therapeutic should be administered to yield the best results.
- Associate Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
- Scientific Director, Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
- Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science
- Interim Director, Cancer Research Group, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
- Associate Division Leader for Nanoscience, Academy of Integrated Sciences (AIS), College of Science
- Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine
- Director, Integrated Cellular Responses Laboratory, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Co-Director, Virginia Tech Cancer Research Alliance
- Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences - University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Postdoctral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine - University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Research Associate, Department of Pharmacology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- University of Buenos Aires: Ph.D., Molecular Biology
- University of Buenos Aires: B.B.S., Molecular Biology
- Ut Prosim Scholar Award, Virginia Tech, (2021)
- Luther and Alice Hamlett Junior Faculty Fellow (2020)
- J. Shelton Horsley Research Award, Virginia Academy of Science (2019)
- Mitzi L. Frank Memorial Endowed Fund (2018)
- Mary Louise Olds Andrews Cancer Award, Virginia Academy of Science (2017)
- College of Science Dean’s Discovery Fund Award, Virginia Tech (2017)
- Molecular Biology Society of Japan, Best Research Work (2016)
- Institute of Society, Culture, and Environment Scholar Award, Virginia Tech (2015)
- Alumni Award for Outreach Excellence, Virginia Tech (2015)
- Nanotechnology Entrepreneurship Challenge Award, Institute for Critical Technologies and Advance Science (2014)
- College of Science Outreach Excellence Award, Virginia Tech (2013)
- Research Scholar of the Week, Virginia Tech (2013)
- Appalachian Community Cancer Network Scholarship (2012)
- Karin Decker Noss Scholarship Award, Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation (2011)
- American Association for Cancer Research Minority Scholar Award in Cancer Research, AACR (2010)
- National Breast Cancer Coalition Scholarship (2010)
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award, NSF (2009)
- Carl Strom Underrepresented Minority Fellowship (2009)
- Nominated by Virginia Tech to SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award, Rising Star (2009)
- Pulmonary Hypertension Association Postdoctoral Fellowship. Awarded and declined (2002)
- American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship (2002)
- Lucio Cherny Foundation Award. Outstanding PhD dissertation award (1997)
- Thalmann Fellowship for Teaching and Research Excellence (1995)
- University of Toronto Fellowship to Scientific Visitors (1995)
- University of Buenos Aires Award. To scientific, teaching and technical achievement (1993 – 1997)
Science Signaling Vol 11, Issue 556 13 November 2018
PNAS November 22, 2016 113 (47) 13516-13521; first published November 9, 2016 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607984113
Selfridge, J.M., Gotoh, T., Schiffhauer, S. et al. Chronotherapy: Intuitive, Sound, Founded…But Not Broadly Applied. Drugs 76, 1507–1521 (2016).
Molecular Biology of the Cell Volume 26, Issue 2 January 15, 2015
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Article ItemVirginia Tech’s COVID-19 testing operation demonstrates the power and versatility of academic labs , article
In the early days of the pandemic, scientists at Virginia Tech created a COVID-19 testing laboratory and novel test for the virus from scratch. This novel protocol for transforming a research laboratory into a COVID-19 testing operation was described in a new article published July 20 in Nature Communications.
Date: Jul 20, 2021 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech COVID-19 lab passes 100,000-sample milestone , article
Since opening, the Molecular Diagnostics Lab has analyzed thousands of samples from Virginia Tech students and employees who were tested for the COVID-19 virus through the university’s testing centers. That’s in addition to testing done for regional health districts since April 20, 2020.
Date: Apr 05, 2021 -
Article ItemCarla Finkielstein honored with Ut Prosim Scholar Award , article
Finkielstein, an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Science and an award-winning cancer researcher, anticipated the limitations of existing methods for testing the novel coronavirus and enlisted a team to develop an innovative method that would more accurately, reliably, and rapidly detect the virus and help mitigate its spread.
Date: Mar 22, 2021 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech scientists, engineers to talk about steps to stop cancer in virtual public session , article
A year ago, Virginia Tech united its biomedical and technical expertise into a Cancer Research Alliance to take on the second leading cause of death in the United States. Now, scientists and engineers will talk about some leading-edge projects in breast cancer, brain cancer, and noninvasive cancer treatments in a public Zoom discussion at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Date: Nov 02, 2020 -
Article ItemThe race against cancer’s clock: New study shows chronic jet lag impairs immune response, accelerates tumor growth , article
A new study led by Carla Finkielstein, an associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and Diego Golombek, a professor at the National University of Quilmes, reveals that chronic jet lag impedes the body’s immune system and also changes the tumor microenvironment, favoring tumor growth.
Date: Oct 14, 2020 -
Article ItemScientists, engineers to discuss COVID-19 response in virtual HokieTalk on Wednesday , article
When the novel coronavirus hit the United States in January, Virginia Tech faculty recognized the nation was on the brink of a COVID-19 pandemic that would affect the university and the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. Hear the inside story about what happened during a virtual HokieTalk at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Date: Sep 27, 2020 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech cancer researcher Carla Finkielstein to join Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC , article
Finkielstein, a molecular biologist and an associate professor in the College of Science, will join the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC on July 1. Her laboratory, which studies how circadian rhythms are involved in breast cancer progression, will move to the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke.
Date: Jun 23, 2020 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech researchers develop new COVID-19 tests to combat backlogs, shortages , article
Virginia Tech scientists have developed a new COVID-19 test and secured federal and state approvals to immediately begin processing samples at on-campus labs in Blacksburg and Roanoke.
Date: Apr 22, 2020 -
Article ItemGraduate student receives first Mitzi L. Frank Memorial Scholarship to support cancer research , article
The inaugural Mitzi L. Frank Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Jesse Janoski, a first-year graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, who is researching cancer and circadian rhythms.
Date: Feb 04, 2020 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech undergraduate biochemistry and biological sciences student wins Sigma Xi research grant , article
The grant awarded to Esther Wisdom, a junior in the Honors College, is one of 17 of the approved proposals submitted by undergraduate students. Overall, 12 percent of the grant applications were approved for funding.
Date: Feb 20, 2019 -
Article ItemTiming is everything: New discoveries in circadian rhythms provide insight into cancer treatment , article
Researchers, including Carla Finkielstein, are now discovering that molecules usually implicated in protecting us from cancer initiation and progression are directly involved in regulating the function of our daily circadian rhythms.
Date: Feb 01, 2019 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech launches crowdfunding campaign to fight breast cancer’s overwhelming impact in Appalachia , article
Volunteers for the breast cancer fundraising campaign include students and faculty from the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech College of Science, Virginia Tech-Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute, and the Center for Gerontology.
Date: Oct 09, 2017 -
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Article ItemVirginia Tech professor receives cancer-research funding , article Date: May 21, 2012
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Article ItemBiologist Carla Finkielstein receives Minority Scholar Award , article
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Date: May 10, 2010
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