← Abridged CV | [PDF]
Ilya J. Finkelstein
Office: MBB 3.422
Department of Molecular Biosciences
2500 Speedway A5000
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712-1199
Phone: 512-471-1394
Website: https://finkelsteinlab.org
E-mail: ilya@finkelsteinlab.org
Education
University of California, Berkeley (1997-2001)
B.S. Chemistry
Stanford University (2001-2007)
Ph.D. Chemistry
Professional Experience
Professor (2025-present)
Department of Molecular Biosciences,
Livestrong Cancer Institute,
Institute for Cell & Molecular Biology,
Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology,
The University of Texas at Austin
Associate Professor (2019-2025)
Department of Molecular Biosciences,
Livestrong Cancer Institute,
The University of Texas at Austin
Assistant Professor (2012-2019)
Department of Molecular Biosciences,
The University of Texas at Austin
Postdoctoral Fellow (2007-2012)
Columbia University Medical Center (with Eric C. Greene)
Graduate Student (2001-2007)
Stanford University (with Michael D. Fayer)
Title of Dissertation
Ultrafast protein dynamics in aqueous and confined environments probed by 2D-IR spectroscopy.
Dissertation Advisor
Michael D. Fayer,
Professor of Chemistry, Stanford University
Postdoctoral Research Topic
As a postdoctoral fellow, I developed and applied single-molecule biophysics tools to
understand how molecular motor proteins navigate on DNA.
Postdoctoral Advisor
Eric C. Greene,
Professor of Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center
Current Research Interests
I am a molecular biologist that develops new biophysical methods to understand how molecular machines edit and repair our genomes. One critical research objective is to understand the biophysical mechanism of CRISPR-associated (Cas) adaptive immunity. These systems are broadly important for understanding host-pathogen interactions between phages and bacteria-the most numerous biological entities on earth. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of bacterial adaptive immunity will also expand the genome editing toolbox.
My second, interrelated objective is to discover the mechanisms underlying the cellular response to DNA damage, specifically the repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs). These lesions are especially dangerous because they fragment the chromosome into two pieces. DSBs also occur naturally during replication, in prophase of meiosis I, and in the diversification of vertebrate immune systems. All cells respond to DSBs through a rapid DNA repair response that requires recognition of the damage, enzymatic processing, and repair via non-homologous end joining or one of several templated homologous recombination pathways. We use biophysical tools to decipher the mechanisms of these repair pathways and how they can be manipulated for gene editing applications. Finally, we develop new microfluidic and cell biology tools for high-throughput studies at the single-cell and single-molecule levels.
Professional Societies
Biophysical Society (2009-)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (2022-)
Patents Issued
Associate Professor:
FINKELSTEIN, Ilya, Claus Wilke, Kuang Hu, James RYBARSKI, and Alexis HILL. Crispr-associated transposons and uses thereof. World Intellectual Property Organization WO2023023519A1, filed August 16, 2022, and issued February 23, 2023.
MCLELLAN, Jason, Jennifer MAYNARD, Andrea CHASSE, Ilya FINKELSTEIN, Mohammad JAVANMARDI, Jeffrey SCHAUB, Hung-Che KUO, et al. Engineered coronavirus spike (s) protein and methods of use thereof. World Intellectual Property Organization WO2021243122A8, filed May 28, 2021, and issued January 6, 2022.
Assistant Professor:
FINKELSTEIN, Ilya, Cheulhee Jung, John Hawkins, Stephen Knox JONES, James RYBARSKI, Fatema A. SAIFUDDIN, Cagri Savran, Andrew D. Ellington, and William H. PRESS. Chip hybridized association-mapping platform and methods of use. World Intellectual Property Organization WO2018232086A1, filed June 14, 2018, and issued December 20, 2018.
Awards and Honors
| Associate Professor: |
| 2025 |
Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Biology, Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) |
| 2025 |
Provost’s Aspiring and Research Leader Academy, UT-Austin |
| 2024 |
WelchX Collaborative Award, UT-Austin |
| 2021 |
Provost’s Mentored Faculty Scholar, UT‑Austin |
| 2021 |
Lorene Morrow Kelley Research Fellowship, UT‑Austin |
| 2021 |
Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Sciences, Welch Foundation |
| Assistant Professor: |
| 2018 |
William H. Tonn Professorial Fund Fellow, UT‑Austin |
| 2015 |
CAREER Award, National Science Foundation |
| 2014 |
Junior Fellow, American Federation of Aging Research |
| 2013 |
Emerging Investigator, Molecular BioSystems |
| 2013 |
Protege, The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas |
| 2012 |
Fellow in Cancer Research, CPRIT |
| Before UT-Austin: |
| 2011 |
Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), NIH |
| 2007 |
NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH |
| 2005 |
Veatch Graduate Fellowship, Stanford University |
| 2003 |
McBain and Stauffer Graduate Fellowship, Stanford University |
Service
Department
| 2022‑23 |
ILS Graduate Admissions Committee, College of Natural Sciences |
| 2021 |
Junior Faculty Search Committee, Molecular Biosciences |
| 2021 |
Infrastructure Committee (building representative), Molecular Biosciences |
| 2016 |
Standing Hiring Committee, Chemistry |
| 2013‑18 |
Seminar Series Committee, Molecular Biosciences |
| 2012‑13 |
Graduate Admissions Committee, Biochemistry, Molecular Biosciences |
College
| 2025 |
Undergraduate Research Fellowship Review Committee |
| 2025 |
Kleberg Foundation Limited Submission Review Committe |
| 2024 |
Welch Catalyst Grant Review Committee |
| 2020- |
Biochemistry GSC Executive Committee (standing member), College of Natural Sciences |
| 2015, 2021‑ |
Catalyst Grant Evaluation Committee (standing member), College of Natural Sciences |
| 2019‑20 |
ICMB Graduate Curriculum Committee, College of Natural Sciences |
| 2016 |
21st Century Research Working Group, College of Natural Sciences |
| 2016 |
Center for Nano‑ and Molecular Science (CNM) Steering Committee, College of Natural Sciences |
| 2016 |
Welch Hall Renovation Architectural Committee, College of Natural Sciences |
| 2012‑13 |
Biochemistry Undergraduate Curriculum Reform Committee, College of Natural Sciences |
University
| 2025 |
Kleberg Foundation limited submission Review Committee |
| 2024 |
MD Anderson Cancer Center Pilot Awards Review Committee |
| 2021‑ |
Limited submissions Proposal Review Committee, UT‑Austin |
| 2020‑22 |
External Member, Biomedical Engineering Graduate Committee, UT‑Austin |
State, National and International
| 2025 |
Macromolecular Structure and Function (MSFC) Study Section (ad hoc), NIH |
| 2025 |
Cell and Molecular Technologies (CMT) Study Section (ad hoc), NIH |
| 2024 |
NCI Pathway to Independence Award Study Section (ad hoc), NIH |
| 2021 |
Faculty Research and Education Development Mentor, NSF‑ASCB |
| 2021 |
Genes, Genomes and Genetics Study Section (ad hoc), NIH |
| 2021 |
Genetic Mechanisms Study Section, NSF |
| 2021 |
PCMB Study Section, NIH |
| 2019 |
External PhD Thesis Committee (on‑site), TU Delft |
| 2019 |
Reviewer (ad hoc), Army Research Office |
| 2019 |
Organizer: Molecular Biophysics Focus Group, Biophysical Society |
| 2017 |
Reviewer, French National Cancer Institute |
| 2016 |
Reviewer, Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter |
| 2016 |
International Fellow Grant Reviewer, HHMI |
| 2016 |
CAREER grant reviewer (ad hoc), NSF |
| 2015 |
Early Career Reviewer (MSFB Study Section, ad hoc) , NIH |
| 2014 |
Research Portfolio Review Committee, Department of Homeland Security |
| 2013 |
Judge, Siemens Science & Math Competition, Semi‑Finals |
Seminars/Lectures
Invited Conference Presentations
| |
|
| 2025 |
Texas Academy of Math Engineering Science and Technology, Dallas, TX |
| 2024 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair Symposium, via Zoom |
| 2024 |
FASEB Dynamic DNA Structures, Florida |
| 2024 |
WelchX Interactive Conference, Austin TX |
| 2023 |
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Challenges Meeting, Dakar, Senegal |
| 2023 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair Symposium, Berkeley, CA |
| 2023 |
Advancing Mass Spectrometry for Biophysics & Structural Biology, Austin, TX |
| 2023 |
67th annual meeting of the Biophysical Society, San Diego, CA |
| 2022 |
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Workshop on CFTR Gene Insertion, Lexington, MA |
| 2022 |
EMBO DNA damage response meeting, Greece; declined |
| 2022 |
FASEB Dynamic DNA Structures, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| 2022 |
15th Asia Pacific Physics Conference, via Zoom |
| 2022 |
Texas Conference on Genome Repair, San Antonio, TX |
| 2022 |
ASMBM Experimental Biology Conference, Philadelphia, PA |
| 2021 |
Austin Forum on Technology and Society, Austin, TX |
| 2021 |
AIChE 4th International Conference on CRISPR Technologies, via Zoom |
| 2021 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair, via Zoom |
| 2020 |
2nd Annual Cellular and Molecular Biophysics Conference, Houston, TX |
| 2020 |
UT COVID‑19 Conference: Virus, Variants, and Antivirals, Austin, TX |
| 2020 |
American Chemical Society, postdoc attended in my place |
| 2020 |
EMBO Conference on Chromatin Organization, Cape Sounio, Greece, declined |
| 2020 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair, via Zoom |
| 2020 |
Genome Repair: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Implications, San Antonio, TX |
| 2020 |
DNA Damage, Mutation and Cancer Gordon Research Conference, Ventura, CA |
| 2020 |
2nd DNA & Interacting Proteins as Single Molecules Meeting, Nassau, Bahamas |
| 2020 |
64th Annual Biophysical Society Meeting, San Diego, CA |
| 2020 |
Engineering the Genome, Keystone Conferences, Alberta, Canada |
| 2019 |
CRISPR 2019 annual meeting, Quebec, Canada |
| 2019 |
EMBO Workshop on Fission Yeast, Barcelona, Spain; declined |
| 2019 |
NSF CAREER Conference, Alexandria, VA |
| 2019 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair Symposium, Berkeley, CA; declined |
| 2019 |
Biophysical Society of Canada (BSC) annual meeting, Ontario, CA |
| 2018 |
Austin Forum on Technology and Society, Austin, TX |
| 2018 |
CRISPR 2018 meeting, Vilnius, Lithuania |
| 2018 |
Quantitative biology (q‑bio) conference, Houston TX; declined |
| 2018 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair Symposium, Berkeley, CA; declined |
| 2018 |
Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA |
| 2018 |
SXSW Panel on Genome Editing, Austin, TX |
| 2018 |
DNA Replication and Repair Structures & Cancer Conference, Cancun, MX |
| 2017 |
Protein‑DNA Interactions Workshop, Houston, TX |
| 2017 |
DNA23 Conference on DNA Computing and Programming, Austin, TX |
| 2017 |
FASEB Conference on Genetic Recombination, Steamboat Springs, CO |
| 2017 |
Quantitative Biology Conference, Beijing, China |
| 2017 |
Gordon Conference on Mammalian DNA Repair, Ventura, CA |
| 2017 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair Symposium, Berkeley, CA |
| 2017 |
CRISPR 2017 Meeting, Big Sky, MO |
| 2016 |
Lithography Workshop 2016, Kamuela, HI, declined |
| 2016 |
Gordon Conference on Single Molecule Biology, Hong Kong, declined |
| 2016 |
CSH Asia 2016 Conference on Genomic Stability, Suzhou; China |
| 2016 |
Stone Symposium, Baylor University, Waco TX |
| 2016 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair Symposium, Berkeley, CA |
| 2016 |
Dynamic DNA and RNA Structures in Cancer, Cancun; Mexico |
| 2015 |
American Federation of Aging Research, Santa Barbara, CA |
| 2015 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair, Berkeley, CA |
| 2015 |
Foundations of Nanoscience (F‑NANO) Conference, Snowbird UT |
| 2015 |
Zing Conference on Nucleic Acids, Cancun; Mexico |
| 2014 |
Gordon Conference on Single Molecule Approaches to Biology, Lucca, Italy |
| 2013 |
Gordon Conference on Nucleic Acids, Biddeford, ME |
| 2013 |
Keystone Symposium on DNA Repair and Replication, Banff, Canada |
| 2012 |
Lost Pines Conference on Genome Integrity, Smithsville, TX |
| 2012 |
Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA |
Invited Seminars
| 2025 |
UT San Antonio Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX |
| 2025 |
UC Irvine, Irvine, CA, (Guest Lecture on Large DNA insertions) |
| 2025 |
UC Irvine, Irvine, CA, (Department Seminar) |
| 2024 |
Austin Forum on Technology & Society, Austin, TX |
| 2023 |
UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA |
| 2023 |
Rice University, Houston, TX |
| 2023 |
Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO |
| 2022 |
Keynote: St. Edwards University, Austin, TX |
| 2022 |
UT‑Austin TOWER Fellows Seminar, Austin, TX |
| 2022 |
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD |
| 2021 |
Livestrong Cancer Institute, via Zoom |
| 2021 |
UT Southwestern, via Zoom |
| 2021 |
UT El Paso, via Zoom |
| 2021 |
New England Biolabs, via Zoom |
| 2021 |
Structural Biology of DNA Repair Webinar, via Zoom |
| 2019 |
TU Delft University, Delft, Netherlands |
| 2019 |
UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX |
| 2018 |
Austin Forum on Science and Technology, Austin, TX |
| 2018 |
Rice University, Houston TX; declined |
| 2017 |
Dell Med School, Livestrong Cancer Institute, Austin, TX |
| 2017 |
Rockefeller University, New York, NY |
| 2017 |
University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA |
| 2017 |
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY |
| 2016 |
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA |
| 2016 |
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX |
| 2016 |
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel |
| 2016 |
Department of Molecular Biosciences Third Year Seminar, Austin, TX |
| 2016 |
Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Annual Retreat, Austin, TX |
| 2015 |
Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Annual Retreat, Austin, TX |
| 2015 |
MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2014 |
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Austin, TX |
| 2014 |
Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Annual Retreat, Austin, TX |
| 2014 |
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY |
| 2014 |
Department of Chemistry, Austin, TX |
| 2014 |
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2014 |
Department of Physics, Austin, TX |
| 2014 |
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA |
| 2013 |
Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Austin, TX |
| 2013 |
J.J. Pickle Research Campus, Austin, TX |
| 2013 |
Department of Physics, Austin, TX |
Professional Services
Peer Reviewing
Nature, Science, Cell, Molecular Cell, Cell Reports, eLife, Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, Nature Communications, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Nucleic Acids Research, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Scientific Reports, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, J Phys Chem B, PLOS Bio, PLOS ONE, Analytical Chemistry, Analytical Biochemistry, BioEssays, Methods
Grant Proposal Reviewing
-
National Institutes of Health
-
National Science Foundation
-
French National Cancer Institute
-
Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter
-
HHMI International Scholars Program
Mentoring
(
= LinkedIn; 
= website)
Visiting Faculty
2014‑15 Prof. Çağri A. Savran, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University. Founder & CEO, Savran Technologies Inc.
Postdoctoral Fellows
2022‑23 Dr. Andrea Quezada, Marie Curie fellow, Max Delbrück Center
2020‑21 Dr. Parastoo Maleki, Research Scientist, UT‑Austin.
2020‑21 Dr. Carlos Calcines‑Cruz, Research Scientist, Mascoma LLC.
2018‑19 Dr. Shane McDevitt, Senior Medical Science Liaison ‑ Oncology at Bayer.
2016‑22 Prof. Michael Soniat, Assistant Professor at Jefferson University.
2016‑21 Prof. Stephen Jones Jr., Assistant Professor at Vilnius University.
2015‑17 Prof. Cheulhee Jung, Associate Professor at Korea University.
2013‑16 Prof. Eric Spivey, Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University.
2013‑15 Prof. Aaron Robison, Assistant Professor, Christian University.
2012‑16 Dr. Ignacio Gallardo, Environmental Scientist at AECOM.
Graduate Students
2024- Paola Carneiro, Graduate Student, UT-Austin. PGEF Fellow
2022‑ You‑Chiun Chang, Graduate student, UT‑Austin.
2022‑ Jesse Buffington, Graduate student, UT‑Austin. NIH F31 Fellow
2021‑25 Ankur Annapareddy, Graduate student, UT‑Austin.
2020‑25 Chia‑Wei (Alvin) Chou, Graduate student, UT Austin.
2019‑23 Kuang Hu, Graduate student, UT‑Austin.
2018‑22 Dr. Kamyab Javanmardi, Senior Bioarchitect at Stealth Biotech Startup.
2018‑23 Hung‑Che (Jami) Kuo, Graduate student, UT‑Austin.
2017‑24 John Cooper, Graduate student, UT Austin.
2016‑21 Dr. Jeffrey Schaub, Senior Scientist at Abbott.
2014‑20 Dr. John Hawkins, Postdoctoral research fellow at EMBL, Heidelberg
2014‑21 Dr. Kaylee Dillard, Senior Scientist at Merck.
2013‑23 Dr. James (Jim) Rybarski, Scientist of Quantitative Biology at Moderna.
2013‑18 Prof. Yoori Kim, Assistant Professor at DGIST, Daegu, South Korea.
2013‑18 Dr. Logan Myler, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
2012‑18 Dr. Maxwell (Max) Brown, Senior process engineer at ICU medical.
Staff Scientists
2023‑ Dr. Selma Sinan, Staff Scientist, UT Austin.
2022‑23 Henry Garcia, Graduate student, UT Austin.
2022‑23 Mary Arnold, Staff Scientist, UT Austin.
2021‑23 Lianne Dubbs, Lab Manager and research scientist, UT Austin.
2018‑ Dr. Hongshan Zhang, Research Scientist, UT‑Austin.
2017‑19 Nicole Johnson, Graduate student at UT Austin.
2016‑21 Giaochau Nguyen, Graduate student at UT Southwestern.
2013‑16 Armando de la Torre, Budget Analyst, UT‑Austin
Undergraduate Students
2025- Anna Le, Undergraduate Researcher, UT Austin.
2025- Jimin Han, Undergraduate Researcher, UT Austin.
2025- Shreya Arvind, Undergraduate Researcher, UT Austin.
2024- Zowie Gaylor, Undergraduate Researcher, UT Austin.
2022-25 Daphne Sahaya, Undergraduate Researcher, UT Austin.
2022‑23 Carlos Arguello, Undergraduate Researcher, UT Austin.
2022‑23 Caitlin Kuriakose, Undergraduate Researcher, UT Austin.
2021‑22 Tyler Washburn, Neuroscience major, UT Austin.
2020‑21 Hayley Zorkic, Data Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
2019‑21 Henry Trentham, Associate Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific
2018‑21 Cynthia Terrace, Graduate Student at the UC Berkeley.
2018‑20 Jake Kula, MD Candidate, McGovern Medical School.
2015‑17 Brianna Gonzales, 2nd Lieutenant Medical Student.
2014‑15 Andrew Leal, PhD Candidate at Boston University School of Medicine.
2014‑18 Fatema Saifuddin, Graduate Student at UCSF.
2014‑16 Jesus De La O, Staff Software Engineer at Indeed.com.
2013‑14 Jacob Bobb, Software engineer at Lost Boys Interactive.
2012‑14 Kameron Azarm, Associate Medical Director at BGB group