Molly Reilly

Molly received her PhD in biological sciences in 2021 from Columbia University under the mentorship of Dr. Oliver Hobert. During her PhD, she studied transcriptional regulation of the worm nervous system with specific regard for mapping the expression and function of the homeodomain transcription factor family in neuron fate diversification. As a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Elizabeth Heller’s lab, she is excited to apply her background to better understand two rare neurodevelopmental diseases, SynGAP1 and STXBP1. She plans to first determine the expression patterns of the genes SYNGAP1 and STXBP1 and explore the basic mechanisms regulating that expression in a wildtype case. Then, along with the ENDD therapeutics team, use that data to inform therapeutic approaches with epigenomic activators in a disease state. Outside of the lab, Molly enjoys long-distance running and hanging out with her husband, Michael, and dog, Teddy.