Dinah Schiffer Singer (born 1948) is an American immunologist specialized in the

regulation of transcription in cancer Generally, in progression to cancer, hundreds of genes are silenced or activated. Although silencing of some genes in cancers occurs by mutation, a large proportion of carcinogenic gene silencing is a result of altered DNA methylation (see DNA met ...

gene expression Gene expression is the process (including its Regulation of gene expression, regulation) by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, proteins or non-coding RNA, ...

, and molecular immunology. She is the deputy director for scientific strategy and development at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

(NCI). Singer was previously director of the NCI division of cancer biology from 1999 to 2019.

Education

Singer is the daughter of

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

mathematician

Menahem Max Schiffer Menahem Max Schiffer (24 September 1911, Berlin – 11 November 1997)) was a German-born American mathematician who worked in complex analysis, partial differential equations, and mathematical physics. Biography Menachem Max Schiffer studied p ...

. She completed a B.S. in biology and life sciences at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) in 1969. Singer earned a Ph.D. in human genetics and biochemistry at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Her 1975 dissertation was titled, ''Erythropoietic differentiation in murine erythroleukemia cells (Friend)''. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the

(NCI) laboratory of biochemistry.

Career

Singer joined NCI in 1975. She served as the director of the NCI Division of Cancer Biology (DCB) from 1999 to 2019, while simultaneously serving as senior investigator and chief of the molecular regulation section of the experimental immunology branch. In 2019, Singer was named NCI's deputy director for scientific strategy and development. She oversees the NCI Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives, Center for Research Strategy, Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, and Center for Cancer Training. In early 2020, as part of NCI’s response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she led the rapid creation of the Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet) to expand

serological Serology is the scientific study of serum and other body fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum. Such antibodies are typically formed in response to an infection (against a given mi ...

testing capacity and research to characterize the immune responses elicited by the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. Singer co-chaired the

Blue Ribbon Panel In the United States, a blue-ribbon committee (or panel or commission) is a group of exceptional people appointed to investigate, study or analyze a given question. Blue-ribbon committees generally have a degree of independence from political inf ...

(BRP) of experts to develop the scientific direction of the Cancer MoonshotSM, a $1.8 billion initiative to accelerate cancer research. She continues to lead NCI's implementation of the Cancer Moonshot, which has resulted in 240 new research activities to address the BRP's recommendations.

Research

Singer's research interests are in the areas of

, gene expression and molecular immunology. Her research has provided insights into the molecular mechanisms that regulate MHC class I transcription in vivo. Some of her studies have identified

BRD4 Bromodomain-containing protein 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''BRD4'' gene. BRD4 is a member of the BET (bromodomain and extra terminal domain) family, which also includes BRD2, BRD3, and BRDT. BRD4, similar to other BET fam ...

, as a

kinase In biochemistry, a kinase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups from high-energy, phosphate-donating molecules to specific substrates. This process is known as phosphorylation, where the high-energy ATP molecule don ...

that regulates early transcription, linking mitosis and transcription and

TAF7 Transcription initiation factor TFIID subunit 7 also known as TAFII55 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TAF7'' gene. Function The intronless gene for this transcription coactivator is located between the protocadherin beta and ga ...

as a checkpoint regulator of early transcription. Singer's research program was focused on interrogating the regulatory networks governing transcription to generate an integrated understanding of the interplay between promoter elements and transcription complexes that establish appropriate regulation of gene expression across diverse cellular and tissue environments.

Personal life

Schiffer met her future husband,

Alfred Singer Alfred Singer (born December 10, 1946) is an American immunologist who works at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he is the Chief of the Experimental Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Research. ...

, in their organic chemistry class at MIT in 1965. They have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Dinah Living people 1948 births Place of birth missing (living people) Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Columbia University alumni 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists American cancer researchers American immunologists American women immunologists National Institutes of Health people 20th-century American biologists 21st-century American biologists American women medical researchers American people of German-Jewish descent