Jon Christopher Aster is an American pathologist who researches the role of the

notch signaling pathway The Notch signaling pathway is a highly conserved cell signaling system present in most animals. Mammals possess four different notch receptors, referred to as NOTCH1, NOTCH2, NOTCH3, and NOTCH4. The notch receptor is a single-pass transmembr ...

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. He is the Michael Gimbrone Professor of Pathology at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...

. He has been a co-editor of the '' Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease'' since 2016.

Early life and education

Jon Christopher Aster was born in

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, Michigan as the eldest child born to his parents. His father, Richard Aster, was a physician and medical researcher. His parents divorced when he was eleven, and he moved with his mother to Boston. He attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(UM), where he was initially interested in pursuing a meteorology degree but later switched to

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, ...

. After graduating, his father recommended that he worked for George Brewer, a faculty member in UM's department of human genetics, while he determined his career path. Aster worked in Brewer's lab for a year before re-enrolling as a doctoral student at UM. He graduated in 1987 with a PhD and

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degre ...

in human genetics. For his doctoral research he studied the

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...

red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

Career

Aster began his

medical residency Residency or postgraduate training is specifically a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM or VMD) , dentist ( DDS or DMD) or podiatrist ...

Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...

in Boston in 1987, finishing a

hematopathology Hematopathology or hemopathology (both also spelled haem-, see spelling differences) is the study of diseases and disorders affecting and found in blood cells, their production, and any organs and tissues involved in hematopoiesis, such as bone m ...

fellowship in 1990 and a

molecular oncology Molecular oncology is an interdisciplinary medical specialty at the interface of medicinal chemistry and oncology that refers to the investigation of the chemistry of cancer and tumors at the molecular scale. Also the development and application ...

fellowship in 1993. In 1996 he became an assistant professor of pathology at

; he was promoted to associate professor in 2000. he currently works there as the Michael Gimbrone Professor of Pathology. Much of his research has focused on the

Notch signaling pathway The Notch signaling pathway is a highly conserved cell signaling system present in most animals. Mammals possess four different notch receptors, referred to as NOTCH1, NOTCH2, NOTCH3, and NOTCH4. The notch receptor is a single-pass transmembr ...

and its role in

. He has been co-

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

of the '' Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease'' since 2016.

Personal life

Aster enjoys golfing and has competed in many father/son golfing tournaments with his father Richard. He is married to Erin Malone and has two children.

References

Jon Aster's Publications on Google Scholar https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=VaJfIfIAAAAJ&hl=en {{DEFAULTSORT:Aster, Jon C Year of birth missing (living people) American pathologists People from Ann Arbor, Michigan University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan Medical School alumni Harvard Medical School faculty American physicians Living people Cancer researchers Annual Reviews (publisher) editors