Tudorita Tumbar
Professor, Molecular Biology and Genetics
Research Focus
Tudorita (Doina) Tumbar’s research explores the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms implicated in cell fate choice and stem cell activity within tissues. Understanding how progenitor and differentiated cells function in normal tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis reveals how deregulation of growth and differentiation can lead to diseased tissues and cancer. Using mouse skin as a model system her laboratory employs genetic and genomic approaches, developing and implementing new mouse genetic tools and opening-up new direction of investigation in stem cell biology. Focusing on hair follicle and epidermal stem cells, her research team examines both stem cell-intrinsic (e.g. transcription factors, histone epigenetic marks, RNA-Pol II pausing) and cell-extrinsic (e.g. signaling between stem cells and neighboring cells) mechanisms that govern stem cell behavior during development, homeostasis and injury repair. Professor Tumbar received her post-doctoral training in stem cell biology at Rockefeller University in New York City (2004), her PhD in cell biology and chromatin folding at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000), and her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at University of Bucharest (1993). She is a regular NIH grant reviewer and is a member of the editorial board at the EMBO Journal. She is the founder and first chair of a Gordon Research Conference series on Epithelial Stem Cell Niches.
Teaching Focus
Tudorita Tumbar currently teaches a freshman course on Introductory Cell and Developmental Biology (BIOMG1350) where she is implementing new active learning strategies to improve learning outcomes. Previously she taught a class on Stem Cell Biology (BIOMG4450), with the objective to give students a general understanding of the concepts, terminology, and methodology currently used in stem cell biology.
Areas Of Expertise
- Hair Follicle Stem Cells
- Stem Cells, Development, Disease
Graduate Fields
- Genetics, Genomics and Development
- Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Education
- Doctorate
University of Illinois - 2000 - BS/MS
University of Bucharest - 1993
Courses Taught
- BIOMG1350: Introduction to Cell and Developmental Biology
- BIOMG4350/6320: Stem Cells and Regeneration
- BIOG 4990: Independent Undergraduate Research in Biology
- BIOG 2990: Introduction to Research Methods in Biology
- BIOMG7940: Nuclear architecture and large-scale chromatin structure in model organisms
- BIOMG 7800: Career Options for PhDs in the Life Sciences
Contact Information
258 Biotechnology Building
Ithaca, NY 14853
tt252 [at] cornell.edu
Additional Links
Publications
In the News
Tudorita Tumbar of Cornell University Has Received a Humboldt Research Award
WIA Report 7/16/2020
Tudorita Tumbar receives Humboldt Research Award
Cornell Chronicle 7/2/2020
Primer and interviews: The dynamic stem cell niche
Development Dynamics. February 14, 2011
Hair Follicles Help Probe Basic Tenets of Stem Cell Biology By Amber Dance
StemBook. November 5, 2009
Some mice stem cells divide in unexpected ways
Science X. August 14, 2009