UMass Boston

Developmental Biology, Hematopoiesis, Genetics, Molecular Biology

PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California San Francisco (2015)

AB in Biochemical Sciences, Harvard University (2007)

• Evan CJ, Liu T$, Girard JR#, Banerjee U#. Injury-induced inflammatory signaling and hematopoiesis in Drosophila. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Mar 22;119(12):e2119109119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2119109119. $Graduate student; #Co-Corresponding Author
• Girard JR*, Goins LM*, Vuu DM*+, Sharpley MS, Spratford CM, Mantri SR%, Banerjee U. (2021) Paths and pathways that generate cell-type heterogeneity and developmental progression in hematopoiesis. eLife. 2021;10:e67516. doi: 10.7554/eLife.67516. *Equal contribution; + Masters’ student; % Undergraduate student;\
• Spratford CM, Goins LM, Chi F$, Girard JR, Macias SN%, Ho VW%, Banerjee U. (2021) Intermediate progenitor cells provide a transition between hematopoietic progenitors and their differentiated descendants. Development. Dec 15;148(24):dev200216. doi: 10.1242/dev.200216. Epub 2021 Dec 17. PMID: 34918741. $ Graduate student; % Undergraduate student
• Banerjee U*, Girard JR*, Goins LM*, Spratford CM*. (2019) Drosophila as a genetic model for hematopoiesis. Genetics 211, 367-417. doi: 10.1534/genetics.118.300223. PMID: 30733377; PMCID: PMC6366919. *Equal contribution
• Girard JR$, Tenthorey JL^, and Morgan DO. (2015) An E2 accessory domain increases affinity for the anaphase-promoting complex and ensures E2 competition. Journal of Biological Chemistry 290, 24614-25. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M115.678193. PMID: 26306044; PMCID: PMC4591839. $Graduate student; ^Post-baccalaureate student
• Lu D$, Girard JR$, Mizrak A$, and Morgan DO. (2015) Quantitative framework for ordered degradation of APC/C substrates. BMC Biology 13:96. doi: 10.1186/s12915-015-0205-6. PMID:26573515; PMCID: PMC4647693. $ Graduate student
• McCullah E$, Farlow J$, Fuller C$, Girard J$, Lipinski-Kruszka J$, Lu D$, Noriega T$, Rollins G$, Spitzer R$, Todhunter M$, and El-Samad H. (2009) Not all Quiet on the Noise Front, Nature Chemical Biology 5, 699-704. doi: 10.1038/nchembio.222. PubMed PMID: 19763097. $Graduate student

Research Interests

The Girard lab studies the molecular mechanisms that govern blood cell development (hematopoiesis) using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. Insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie blood formation are necessary to understand the causes of blood diseases such as leukemia. Drosophila blood cells are immune cells with functional similarities to human myeloid cells such as macrophages, and despite the vast evolutionary distance that separates these two organisms, their blood cells employ some of the same molecular pathways for their development. The Girard lab investigates the process by which undifferentiated blood progenitor cells differentiate into a variety of specialized blood cell types. Their approach to this research combines the power of Drosophila genetics and microscopy with newer single cell and molecular techniques.

Honors

• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award
• Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences Initiative to Maximize Student Diversity (IMSD) Graduate Research Fellowship