José L. McFaline-Figueroa
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
José L. McFaline-Figueroa’s research focuses on defining the molecular changes induced in cancer cells after exposure to anti-cancer therapy, how those changes alter response to treatment, and how they differ as a function of the genetic background of individual cancer cells.
The goal of the lab is to leverage these functional atlases of cellular response to arrive at novel treatments against cancer, with a particular focus on aggressive tumor types that frequently fail the current standard-of-care.
McFaline-Figueroa’s approach includes the development and application of tools centered around single-cell genomics, multiplex genome editing, and chemical genetics. These techniques increase the scale at which we can determine how chemical and genetic perturbations alter molecular phenotypes and how those phenotypes vary due to the cellular heterogeneity observed between and within tumors.
José L. McFaline-Figueroa received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (2006) and his PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014). He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington (2015-2020).
Research Areas
- Bioinformatics
- Genomics and Computational Modeling
- Personalized Medicine and Patient-specific Modeling
- Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology
Additional Information
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Professional Experience
- Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2021-
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Professional Affiliations
- Associate Member, Herbert and Florence Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics, 2021-
- Member, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2021-
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Honors & Awards
- Allen Institute Distinguished Investigator Award, 2023
- NSF CAREER Award, 2022
- NIH NHGRI Genomic Innovator Award, 2021
- NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, 2012
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Education
- PhD, Biology, MIT
- BS, Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez