Samuel Katz, MD, PhD
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About
Titles
Associate Professor of Pathology
Biography
Samuel G. Katz graduated with a combined B.S./M.S. from Yale University in 1995. He then pursued dual M.D., Ph.D. training in the Health Sciences & Technology (HST) program jointly administered by MIT and Harvard. His Ph.D. thesis with Stuart H. Orkin focused on the transcriptional regulation of hematopoiesis. Sam then completed a residency in pathology and fellowship in hematopathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He performed his post-doctoral studies on apoptosis with Loren D. Walensky at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. As an Associate Professor of Pathology at Yale University, Dr. Katz manages a laboratory concentrating on both intrinsic mechanisms of cell death and ways to reprogram immunocytes to mediate the extrinsic program of cell death, as well as contributes to patient care as an active hematopathologist.
Appointments
Pathology
Associate Professor on TermPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Genomics, Genetics, and Epigenetics
- Hematopathology
- Hematopathology
- Katz Lab
- Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology
- Pathology
- Pathology and Molecular Medicine
- Pathology Research
- Surgical Pathology
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Center for Immuno-Oncology
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Medicine
- Yale Ventures
- YCCEH
Education & Training
- Fellowship
- Brigham & Women's Hospital (2008)
- Residency
- Brigham & Women's Hospital (2006)
- MD
- Harvard Medical School (2004)
- PhD
- Harvard Medical School (2004)
- BS
- Yale University, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry (1995)
- MS
- Yale University, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry (1995)
Research
Overview
A core focus of the laboratory is the expansive family of BCL-2 proteins. They comprise an intricate network of guardian and executioner proteins that govern the core pathway for programmed cell death in mammals. The role of the pro-apoptotic pore forming BCL-2 proteins in the development, maintenance and chemoresistance of malignancy is a fundamental molecular process studied by the laboratory
Of particular interest is a poorly understood family member called BOK, which is present in one of the 20 most frequently deleted genomic regions in all human cancers. Current evidence supports a role for BOK not only in the canonical apoptosis pathway, but in other cellular homeostasis pathways, such as the response to ER stress. How BCL-2 family members like BOK integrate these so-called "day-jobs" into their regulation of cell viability is of great interest. Using conditional mouse knockouts, biochemistry and genetic screening, we hope to unravel these complicated cellular signaling pathways. This knowledge will be important in devising therapeutic strategies to overcome blocks in apoptosis.
The immune system has an incredible capacity to selectively deliver cytotoxic strikes to defined targets. Understanding the determinants of both immune cell and cancer cell survival is important to optimize immunotherapy. Here we employ highly translational, synthetic engineering approaches to improve adoptive cellular therapy. Primary human T cells, Natural Killer (NK) cells and Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are reprogrammed using a multifactor mRNA approach developed by our collaborator, Sherman M. Weissman, Sterling Professor of Genetics. Our efforts are further strengthened by close collaborations with the Yale New Haven Hospital’s Advanced Cell Therapy core and several clinical oncologists.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Samuel G. Katz, MD, is a pathologist who specializes in diagnosing diseases and cancers of the blood, including lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma. During medical school, Dr. Katz was strongly drawn to scientific research, especially the study of disease origin. He is driven by a need “to understand what’s happening within cells, and a desire to reprogram the immune system to fight cancer,” he says.
Dr. Katz appreciates the opportunity to discuss patient samples with colleagues in order to determine—with the most accuracy possible—how a patient’s therapy might move forward. “There’s an art to pathology,” he says.
At Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Katz is an associate professor of pathology and studies the basic mechanisms of cell death.
Clinical Specialties
Board Certifications
Hematology (Pathology)
- Certification Organization
- AB of Pathology
- Original Certification Date
- 2020
Anatomic Pathology
- Certification Organization
- AB of Pathology
- Latest Certification Date
- 2020
- Original Certification Date
- 2009
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Contacts
Locations
Lauder Hall
Academic Office
Patient Care Locations
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