Emily Bernstein, PhD, Professor, Oncological Sciences, and Dermatology
Emily Bernstein, PhD, Professor of Oncological Sciences, and Dermatology, is co-leader of the Cancer Mechanisms Research Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute. Dr. Bernstein facilitates basic research on genetic, epigenetic, biochemical, and developmental pathways that drive cancer initiation and progression, and fosters intra- and inter-program collaborations that accelerate the development of novel, targeted therapies for cancer. Her research topics include Cancer, Chromatin, Epigenetics, Gene Regulation, Molecular Biology, and Stem Cells.
She and her team are focused on how epigenetic changes affect gene expression in cancer and in development. Their long-term goal is to better understand the chromatin changes that take place at the molecular level during the transformation process of normal cells to cancer cells. Her team studies melanoma, breast cancer, and neuroblastoma.
She teaches courses on cancer biology and serves on numerous PhD thesis committees at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Bernstein is a permanent member of the Cancer Genetics Study Section of the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review and serves as a reviewer for additional grant foundations.
Emily Bernstein grew up in a quiet area of Long Island that she says was not very diverse, and she much prefers the dynamic diversity of New York City, where she works as a cancer researcher and lives in Queens with her eight-year-old daughter and their rescue dog and cat.
In particular, she appreciates the diverse environment that Mount Sinai offers, and its overall support of scientists who come from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
As Dr. Bernstein worked her way through the academic ranks, she focused on doing her best scientific work and not on the fact that she herself represented a group—women in science—who traditionally have been a minority, and whose family obligations and responsibilities have often kept them from rising through the ranks to senior faculty positions, across scientific and academic institutions.
“For me, the goal was to prove myself as a scientist, not as a female scientist,” she says. “I think at Mount Sinai no one is judged based on their gender, race, religion, nationality, or whether they are gay or straight. The test is how good of a scientist or physician you are, and that is what is important.”
Dr. Bernstein manages a team of about 10 researchers, almost all of whom are from outside the United States. She has had PhD students and postdoctoral fellows from Israel, Italy, Germany, Portugal, France, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, and Cuba. She also is working to recruit more diverse slates of candidates for positions in her lab, including interns from minority backgrounds, who often are not represented well in research laboratories.
As to the advantages of diversity in her lab, she says, “Scientists are trained differently in different parts of the world, or do their work based on the local budget, economics, and customs.” These differences can come into play as teams from diverse backgrounds work together in her oncology laboratory. “For example, researchers from certain parts of Europe tend to be more focused on controlling their experiments in a multitude of ways and replicating the results numerous times,” she notes. “Their work has helped other researchers in the lab to slow down a bit, rather than proving a concept and getting data quickly. The diversity in our labs helps change how we do the science and makes it stronger.”
Conversely, focusing on advancing the science quickly allowed others in the team who operated at a slower pace to see the importance of approaching cancer research with great urgency, given that lives are at stake and patients are waiting for new treatments and cures. “We learn from each other and that benefits us all,” Dr. Bernstein says.
Dr. Bernstein tells of an MD/PhD student from Cuba whose background and the political history of his country left him eager to gain as much education as he could in order to contribute to society and help his family, who struggled economically back home. “This particular student had extraordinary motivation that was shaped by the struggles his family faced,” she says. “I think his determination was an inspiration to other students who never faced such hardships that he and his family endured.”
Dr. Bernstein believes in fostering an environment that is both open and supportive, so people on her team feel comfortable discussing what’s on their minds and getting to the root of any problems they may be experiencing, whether in the lab or in their personal lives.
“I encourage people to talk openly, whether to me privately or in a group setting,” she says. “We start each team meeting with a 10-minute planned discussion of any open issues, and I’ve seen that turn into a half-hour discussion, so I think people appreciate the openness and dialogue.”
Dr. Bernstein, a single mother, adds: “Mount Sinai gives me the flexibility to focus on being a mother when I need to. I think women in science can have successful careers and raise families, but it’s important to have balance in our lives, and I work to make sure my team has the same flexibility to balance work and family. This can mean flexible or reduced work hours, not attending every special event or recruitment social, or staying home when it’s important for the welfare of the child or family.”
Photo Credit: Claudia Paul, January-February 2020