Jill Bargonetti (born October 10, 1962) is an American professor at the City University of New York with dual appointments at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

and The Graduate Center. Her research is focused on tumor suppressor protein

p53 p53, also known as tumor protein p53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory transcription factor protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thou ...

and its role as an

oncogene An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer. In tumor cells, these genes are often mutated, or expressed at high levels.

when it is mutated in breast cancer.

Early life and education

Born on October 10, 1962, in New York Hospital, Jill Bargonetti is the daughter of Adah Askew and Arthur Bargonetti. Jill was born to a Black mother and an Italian American father.
ill Bargonetti#cite ref-1, ^ ''Hunter, Karen (15 November 1997). "Her In-Gene-Uity Pays Work Reveals Cancer Cure".'' She grew up in a strategically multi-ethnic and culturally diverse Mitchel-Lama housing development on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Bargonetti attended three of New York City’s special public schools: Hunter College Elementary School, Hunter College High School and The

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

. She went on to attend the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

where she majored in biology and dance and earned a B.A. in Biology. She then received her Masters from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1987 followed by her Ph.D. from NYU in 1990. She did a postdoctoral fellowship 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 ...

from 1990 until 1994, where she worked alongside Dr. Carol Prives. There, she characterized important functions of

needed for tumor suppression and that they were lost when p53 is mutated in cancer.

Career

Bargonetti’s first professional positions in the 1980s were as a dancer with a Harlem-based dance company called ''Dianne McIntyre’s Sounds in Motion'' and as a research technician at Rockefeller University. Following her doctoral and postdoctoral training, in 1994 Bargonetti became an assistant professor at The City University of New York with appointments at

and The Graduate Center. She chose the City University of New York in part to be a role model for other people from groups underrepresented in the sciences. In 1997, she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Bill Clinton for “scholarly work in cancer related studies of cell growth and gene expression and involvement of undergraduate, graduate and especially minority students in the discovery process.” She became a full professor at Hunter College in 2007, the Chair of the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCD) PhD subprogram of the CUNY Graduate Center in 2009, and the leader of the New York Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates (NY-RaMP) program at Hunter College in 2023. Bargonetti has served on numerous National Committee’s to evaluate science and policy. Some of her appointments include a 2012-2018 Membership in The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tumor Cell Biology Study Section Review Committee and a working as a member of The National Cancer Policy Board from 2002 to 2005. Bargonetti was featured on a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series called "American Graduate Day" in 2015. Additionally, she spoke at a TedX "Borders and Belonging" event at

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

(CUNY) in 2016. She was noted as a New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: Distinguished Alumna and a SUNY Purchase Presidential Distinguished Alumna. In 2017, Jill Bargonetti was inducted into the Bronx Science High School Hall of Fame.

Honors and awards

* Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, from President Bill Clinton * The New York City Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Science and Technology * New York Voice Award * Kathy Keeton Mountain Top Award from the New York branch of the NAACP * Outstanding Woman Scientist Award from the Association for Women in Science * Bronx Science High School Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bargonetti, Jill 1962 births Living people Hunter College faculty New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni American medical researchers The Bronx High School of Science alumni State University of New York at Purchase alumni Scientists from New York City Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers