Karlyne M. Reilly BS, PhD

Dr. Reilly received her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard University under Dr. Douglas Melton studying mesoderm induction and axis formation in Xenopus laevis. She trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Cancer Research of MIT, under Dr. Tyler Jacks, where she held fellowships from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the AACR-Sidney Kimmel Foundation, and the American Cancer Society.

As a post-doctoral fellow, she studied genetic modifiers of cancers associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 and characterized the first mouse model of astrocytoma and glioblastoma generated through tumor suppressor mutation. She came to the CCR in 2002 and established the Genetic Modifiers of Tumorigenesis Group where she continued her work on modifiers of nervous system tumorigenesis, identifying genetic loci affecting astrocytoma/glioblastoma, spinal astrocytoma, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. In 2016, she was appointed director of the Rare Tumor Initiative. Her current research focuses on mechanisms of susceptibility to nervous system tumors and preclinical models of tumors associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).