Ernest Fraenkel, PhD

Email: 

Phone: 

(617) 258-8702
Professor of Biological Engineering

Research-at-a-glance: 

Systems biology of disease
Computational biology
Neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, cancer

Affiliations: 

Associate Member, Broad Institute

Biography: 

Prof. Fraenkel received his A.B. in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard College and his Ph.D. in Biology at the laboratory of Professor Carl Pabofrom at MIT. He continued his post-doctoral research as a fellow at the laboratory of Professor Stephen Harrison at Harvard University. He was a Whitehead Fellow and a Pfizer Computational Biology Fellow at the Whitehead Institute. Prof. Fraenkel joined MIT as a Research Affiliate at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He became an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biological Engineering in 2006.

Research: 

The Fraenkel laboratory is developing computational and experimental approaches to search for new therapeutic strategies for diseases. New experimental methods make it possible to measure cellular changes across the genome and proteome. These technologies include genome-wide measurements of transcription, of protein-DNA interactions (ChIP-Seq), of genetic interactions, and of protein modifications. Each data source provides a very narrow view of the cellular changes. However, by computationally integrating these data the group can reconstruct signaling pathways and identify previously unrecognized regulatory mechanisms that contribute to the etiology of disease and may provide new approaches for treatment.

Current projects focus on the study of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and diabetes.

Research Areas: 

Honors & Awards: 

Merrimack-Council for Systems Biology in Boston Prize
Fulbright Distinguished Chair (Turin, Italy)