The Team

Katherine M. Aird, PhD

Katherine was born and raised overseas, spending most of her formative years in Asia. She always knew she wanted to be a scientist and specifically went to Johns Hopkins University for her bachelor’s degree so that she could gain experience in a research lab. At Hopkins, she worked in the lab of Dr. Yukari Manabe studying tuberculosis strains. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University, Katherine did a short stint at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before attending Duke University for her PhD (2005-2010). Her dissertation work in Dr. Gayathri Devi’s lab focused on the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein and therapeutic resistance to HER2-targeting agents in inflammatory breast cancer. In 2010, she started her postdoctoral training in Rugang Zhang’s lab at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and moved to The Wistar Institute with him in 2012. There, she studied the role of nucleotide metabolism in oncogene-induced senescence and the chromatin basis of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype in addition to exploring novel therapies for both ovarian cancer and melanoma. In late 2016, she started her independent faculty position at Penn State College of Medicine. In September 2020, the Aird Lab moved to the NCI-Designated UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine as an Associate Professor with tenure. Outside of the lab, Katherine loves to spend time with her husband (Chris) and dogs (Molly the mini bernedoodle and Murphy the mini labradoodle). She is also a classical vocalist, runner & Peloton enthusiast, and die-hard Duke basketball fan. Follow Katherine on Twitter @airdlab

Dr. Aird’s CV