Stem cell researcher Teresa Bowman, Ph.D., has been appointed chair of the department of developmental & molecular biology (DMB) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine after a comprehensive national search. Dr. Bowman will begin her new role on December 1, following the longtime leadership of Richard Stanley, Ph.D.
“Dr. Bowman has demonstrated her leadership abilities, commitment to mentorship, and dedication to the College of Medicine since she joined us in 2013,” said Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein. “I am very pleased to appoint her to this important position and am confident of her success in her new role.”
Dr. Bowman, who is currently an associate professor of DMB, of oncology, and of medicine at Einstein, has been highly active in many facets of Einstein campus life: She is the director of the zebrafish core facility, a member of the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine organization committee, a member of Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center shared resources committee, and a member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. She is also a member of the Senate Council, was the senate representative on the Einstein-Montefiore Philanthropy Council, and a member of the diversity, equity and inclusion faculty retention and recruitment task force.
Additionally, Dr. Bowman is deeply involved in education and training at the College of Medicine. She is a member of the advisory committee for the postdoctoral institute, has served on the graduate school‘s admissions committee, is the associate director of the cell and molecular biology and genetics training programs, and is the director for two graduate courses. In recent years, she worked with the graduate school to establish and then serve as the inaugural first-year Ph.D. advisor and on the Advisory Council of Elders for Ph.D. students, whose main task is to offer impartial, confidential advice on a variety of situations that might arise during doctoral training. In 2022, she received the LaDonne H. Schulman Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is given to a faculty member each year by Einstein’s Ph.D. students. She has mentored many Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students and is also an enthusiastic supporter of pathway programs, hosting dozens of high school, college, and masters students in her lab over the years.
In addition to her leadership roles, Dr. Bowman is an exceptional and collaborative scientist. Her lab focuses on hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem and progenitor cells, exploring both how these cells remain healthy throughout life and how their dysfunction leads to malignancies. Her lab uses a highly integrative strategy combining zebrafish genetics, human cell culture, and genomics approaches to better understand basic cellular functions and how diseases such as myelodysplastic syndrome arise. Her group’s work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and many foundations, including the American Cancer Society and Edward P. Evans Foundation.
“I’m honored to be selected to lead DMB and proud to build upon the extraordinary work of Dr. Stanley,” said Dr. Bowman. “Einstein is an extraordinary place and I look forward to supporting new opportunities for fundamental and translational research and to continue to grow a diverse scientific workforce.”
Dr. Bowman earned her B.S. from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and her Ph.D. at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She completed her postdoctoral training at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, where she received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship and K01 career award, before joining Einstein.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2023-24 academic year, Einstein is home to 737 M.D. students, 209 Ph.D. students, 124 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 239 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2023, Einstein received more than $192 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in cancer, aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. For more information, please visit einsteinmed.edu, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and view us on YouTube.
