Contact Information
Summary
As a postdoctoral fellow in the Cutaneous Development and Carcinogenesis Section, Dr. Gelb was awarded a Young Investigator Collegiality Award from the European Society for Dermatological Research/Society for Investigative Dermatology (ESDR/SID). She has also received a Cancer Virology and HIV Think Tank Presenter Award, and a Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE). During her Ph.D. training at Georgetown University, she was awarded a Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Pharmacology/Toxicology and the Dr. Mark Smulson Award for Excellence in Thesis Research. As a fellow, Dr. Gelb has spearheaded a collaborative research project with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Chemical Genomics Center. She also co-developed a successfully funded proposal to the Trans-NIH RNAi Program.
Research Statement
Dr. Gelb’s research is focused on understanding the pathophysiology underlying Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and aggressive skin cancer. Tara combines high-throughput small-molecule chemical screening, RNAi screening, and oncogenomic analyses of MCC samples and cell lines to identify proteins and pathways required for MCC growth. These results are translated into in vivo preclinical studies to identify novel treatments for MCC patients.
Education
University of Rochester
B.S., Molecular Genetics
Georgetown University
Ph.D., Pharmacology
Experience
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dermatology Branch