Cristian Boboila

Cristian Boboila, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist

Columbia University and the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute

 

Contact Information:                                                                               

Jerome L. Greene Science Center                                                                  

3227 Broadway, L08-27                                                                                 

New York, NY 10027

(857)-928-7733

cb2904@columbia.edu

www.cristianboboila.com

 

Date of Birth: August 5, 1980

Birthplace:      Craiova, Romania

Citizenship:     United States, Romania

Education

2005-2011       Harvard University                                                                

                        Ph.D. in Immunology, Frederick Alt lab

                        Identification of a novel pathway for DNA break repair, Alternative End-Joining

2000-2004       Yale University                                                                                            

                        B.S. in Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, B.S. in Economics

 

Professional Experience

2011-Present  Columbia University                                                                                              

                        Postdoctoral Fellow, Richard Axel lab

                        Imposition of value on olfactory representations

2004-2005       Harvard University                                                                                                    

                        Research Technician, Shiv Pillai lab

                        Studies of B lymphocyte development and function

2001-2004       Yale University                                                                                                     

                        Undergraduate Researcher, David Schatz lab

                        Investigation of the role of DNA end-processing enzymes in VDJ recombination

 

Publications

1.     Wang PY*, Boboila C*, Chin M, Higashi-Howard A, Shamash P, Wu Z, Stein NP, Abbott LF, Axel R. Transient and Persistent Representations of Odor Value in Prefrontal Cortex. Neuron, doi10.1016/j.neuron.2020.07.033. * equal contribution

2. Liang Z, Kumar V, Le Bouteiller M, Zurita J, Kenrick J, Lin SG, Lou J, Hu J, Ye AY, Boboila C, Alt FW, Frock RL. Ku70 suppresses alternative end joining in G1-arrested progenitor B cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 May 25;118(21):e2103630118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2103630118.

3.     Boboila C, Alt FW, Schwer B. Classical and alternative end-joining pathways for repair of lymphocyte-specific and general DNA double-strand breaks. Adv Immunol. 2012;116:1-49. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-394300-2.00001-6. Review.

4.     Boboila C*, Oksenych V*, Gostissa M, Wang JH, Zha S, Zhang Y, Chai H, Lee CS, Jankovic M, Saez LM, Nussenzweig MC, McKinnon PJ, Alt FW, Schwer B*. Robust chromosomal DNA repair via alternative end-joining in the absence of X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 1 (XRCC1). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(7):2473-8. * equal contribution

5.     Wesemann DR, Magee JM, Boboila C, Calado DP, Gallagher MP, Portuguese AJ, Manis JP, Zhou X, Recher M, Rajewsky K, Notarangelo LD, Alt FW. Immature B Cells Preferentially Switch to IgE With Increased Direct Sm to Se Recombination. J Exp Med. 2011;208(13):2733-46.

6.     Zha S, Guo C, Boboila C, Oksenych V, Cheng HW, Zhang Y, Wesemann DR, Yuen G, Patel H, Goff P, Alt FW. ATM damage response and XLF repair factor are functionally redundant in joining DNA break. Nature, 2011;469(7329):250-4.

7.     Zhang Y, Gostissa M, Hildebrand DG, Becker MS, Boboila C, Chiarle R, Lewis S, Alt FW. The role of mechanistic factors in promoting chromosomal translocations found in lymphoid and other cancers. Adv Immunol. 2010;106:93-133.

8.     Boboila C, Yan C, Wesemann DR, Jankovic M, Wang JH, Manis J, Nussenzweig A, Nussenzweig M, Alt FW. Alternative end-joining catalyzes class switch recombination in the absence of both Ku70 and DNA ligase 4. J Exp Med. 2010;207(2):417-27

9.     Boboila C*, Jankovic M*, Yan CT*, Wang JH, Wesemann DR, Zhang T, Fazeli A, Feldman L, Nussenzweig A, Nussenzweig M, Alt FW. Alternative end-joining catalyzes robust IgH locus deletions and translocations in the combined absence of ligase 4 and Ku70. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010;107(7):3034-9. * equal contribution

10.     Zhang T, Franklin A, Boboila C, McQuay A, Gallagher MP, Manis JP, Khamlichi AA, Alt FW. Downstream class switching leads to IgE antibody production by B lymphocytes lacking IgM switch regions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010;107(7):3040-5.

11.  Zha S, Boboila C, Alt FW. Mre11: roles in DNA repair beyond homologous recombination. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2009;16(8):798-800.

12.  Cariappa A, Takematsu H, Liu H, Diaz S, Haider K, Boboila C, Kalloo G, Connole M, Shi HN, Varki N, Varki A, Pillai S. B cell antigen receptor signal strength and peripheral B cell development are regulated by a 9-O-acetyl sialic acid esterase. J Exp Med. 2009;206(1):125-38.

13.  Franco S, Murphy MM, Li G, Borjeson T, Boboila C, Alt FW. DNA-PKcs and Artemis function in the end-joining phase of immunoglobulin heavy chain class switch recombination. J Exp Med. 2008;205(3):557-64.

14.  Yan CT, Boboila C, Souza EK, Franco S, Hickernell TR, Murphy M, Gumaste S, Geyer M, Zarrin AA, Manis JP, Rajewsky K, Alt FW. IgH class switching and translocations use a robust non-classical end-joining pathway. Nature. 2007;449(7161):478-82.

15.  Cariappa A, Boboila C, Moran ST, Liu H, Shi HN, Pillai S. The recirculating B cell pool contains two functionally distinct, long-lived, posttransitional, follicular B cell populations. J Immunol. 2007;179(4):2270-81

16.  Moran ST, Cariappa A, Liu H, Muir B, Sgroi D, Boboila C, Pillai S. Synergism between NF-kappa B1/p50 and Notch2 during the development of marginal zone B lymphocytes. J Immunol. 2007;179(1):195-200

17.  Moran ST, Cariappa A, Liu H, Boboila C, Shi HN, Holland PM, Peschon JJ, Pillai S. Protein kinase C-associated kinase is not required for the development of peripheral B lymphocyte populations. Mol Immunol. 2006;43(10):1694-9.

18.  Repasky J, Corbett E, Boboila C, Schatz DG. Mutational analysis of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated N-nucleotide addition in V(D)J recombination, J Immunol. 2004;172(9):5478-88.

 

Fellowships and Awards

2013 - 2016       Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

2010                Hauser Scholar Award for Outstanding Graduate Work, Harvard University          

2009                Albert J. Ryan Foundation Award, Harvard University

2008 - 2011       Cancer Research Institute Predoctoral Training Grant

2008                Best Poster Presentation, Harvard Immune Disease Institute

2007                Best Poster Presentation, Harvard Immune Disease Institute

2000 - 2004      Tercentennial Scholarship, Yale University

1999                Bronze Medal, International Biology Olympiad, Uppsala, Sweden

                        Second Prize, Romanian National Biology Olympiad

1998                Third Prize Romanian National Biology Olympiad

 

Invited Seminars and Posters

2021 HHMI Science Meeting, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, virtual (poster, short talk)

2019                Assembly and Function of Neuronal Circuits, Ascona, Switzerland (talk)

2018                Society for Neuroscience, Nanosymposium, San Diego, CA (talk)   

                        HHMI Science Meeting, Janelia Campus, VA (poster)                                               

                        Annual Canadian Neuroscience Conference, Vancouver, Canada (poster)              

                        CSHL Brain and Behavior Meeting, Cold Spring Harbor, NY (poster)                        

                        Research in Encoding and Decoding of Neural Ensembles, Areadne, Greece (poster)

2017                CSHL Asia Francis Crick Symposium, Suzhou, China (talk)

2015                Helen Hay Whitney Fellowship Annual Meeting, Dedham, MA (talk)

2011                Harvard Immunology Program Graduate Student Recruitment, Boston, MA (talk)

2010                CSHL Gene Expression in the Immune System, Cold Spring Harbor, NY (poster)     

                        18th International Cancer Immunotherapy Symposium, New York, NY (poster)

                        Harvard University Immunology Program Retreat, Boston, MA (talk)         

2009                17th International Cancer Immunotherapy Symposium, New York, NY (poster)

                        Boston Romanian Biomedical Research Club, Boston, MA (talk)

                        Harvard University Immune Disease Institute, Boston, MA (talk)

2008                Harvard University Immune Disease Institute, Boston, MA (talk)

2007                FEBS International Immunology Summer School, Hvar, Croatia (poster)

 

Teaching Experience

2010                Lecturer, Introduction to Immunology, Harvard University

2009                Lecturer, Introduction to Immunology, Harvard University

2006                Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Immunology, Harvard University

 

Other Experience and Professional Activity

2019-Present  Member, National Postdoctoral Association

2019-Present  Preprint recommender, PCI Circuit Neuroscience

2011-Present  Member, Society for Neuroscience

2009-Present  Member, Romanian American Biomedical Association

2007-Present  Reviewer: Nature, Cell, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Molecular Cell, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology

2002-2004       Science writer, Yale Scientific Magazine

 

Mentoring

2021 - present  Stella Wroblewski, Reed College ’21, Research Technician

2021 - present  Siddhant Sanghi, Columbia University Undergraduate Student

2019 - 2021      Alexandra Howard, Bates College ‘19, Research Technician                        

2018                Jane Yijing Chen, Columbia University PhD Program, Rotation Student                  

2017 - 2019       Nicole P. Stein, Barnard College ‘19,  Research Technician

                        Subsequently enrolled in the DO program at Touro College of Ostheopatic Medicine

2016 - 2017      Kristen Lawlor, University of Maryland ‘14, Research Technician

                        Subsequently enrolled in the PhD program at Columbia University            

2015 - 2017       Philip Shamash, UCLA ‘15, Research Technician

                        Subsequently enrolled in the PhD program at University College of London

2014                Eliza Grigoriciuc, Cluj Medical School ‘18, Romania, Summer Student

                        Subsequently enrolled in the Residency program at UMass Medical School

2013                Joshua Neuhaus, St Paul’s School, London ’14, Summer Student

                        Subsequently enrolled in the undergraduate program at Duke University

2012                Jonathan Kasdin, The Dalton School ’13, Summer Student

                        Subsequently enrolled in the undergraduate program at Duke University

2010                Grace J Yuen, Harvard University PhD Program, Rotation Student

2010                Liz Albertorio Saez, U of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez ’12, NIH STEP-UP Program Summer Student

                        Subsequently enrolled in the graduate program at University of Rochester

 

 

References

Richard Axel, MD

Columbia University and Zuckerman Institute

Jerome L. Greene Science Center

3227 Broadway, L08

New York, NY 10027

Ra27@columbia.edu

(212) 749-8162

 

Larry Abbott, PhD

William Bloor Professor of Theoretical Neuroscience

Columbia University and Zuckerman Institute

Jerome L. Greene Science Center

3227 Broadway, L5-075

New York, NY 10027

lfa2103@columbia.edu

(212)-853-1065

 

Frederick Alt, PhD

Director, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Charles A. Janeway Professor of Pediatrics

Harvard University and the Children’s Hospital Boston

Karp Building, 9th floor

Boston, MA 02115

alt@enders.tch.harvard.edu

617-919-2539