Agata Smogorzewska

Physician-scientist Agata Smogorzewska, who joined the faculty in 2009, is working to understand why the body’s intricate DNA surveillance and repair system fails in tumor cells. She has already made critical discoveries through studies of cancer-prone individuals born with a rare genetic disorder, Fanconi anemia.

At least three of the genes that malfunction in Fanconi anemia patients are also associated with inherited pre-disposition to breast cancer. Dr. Smogorzewska is seeking additional breast cancer predisposition genes and working to determine how mutations in these genes increase the likelihood of breast tumors. Because Fanconi anemia-related genes play a role in resistance to chemotherapy, her work is also opening avenues toward improved cancer treatment.

A graduate of Rockefeller University’s Ph.D. program, Dr. Smogorzewska is a recipient of a 2011 Clinical Scientist Development Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. She has also received a Burroughs-Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists.

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