Graduate School Faculty
Our faculty is primarily made up of Van Andel Institute (VAI) investigators, each of whom have a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent academic degree and a distinguished record of scholarship and contributions to the scientific community.
Adjunct faculty members may supplement the permanent faculty. These may include visiting scientists from other research institutes, faculty members from local colleges or universities, postdoctoral fellows at VAI or practicing professionals.
Meet the Faculty
Marie Adams, M.S.
Director, Genomics Core
Stephen Baylin, M.D.
Co-leader, Van Andel Institute–Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C) Epigenetics Dream Team
Director’s Scholar and Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Sarah Bodbyl, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Van Andel Institute Graduate School
Lena Brundin, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Neurodegenerative Science
Behavioral Medicine
Nick Burton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Maternal Effects on Metabolism and Host-Microbe Interactions
Gerhard (Gerry) Coetzee, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Neurodegenerative Science; Director, MiND NeuroGenomes Project
Post-GWAS Functionality
Martha Escobar, Ph.D.
Director, Research Development
Yvonne Fondufe-Mittendorf, Ph.D.
Interim Chair, Department of Cell Biology; Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Epigenetic Regulation and Environmental Impacts
Stephanie Grainger, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Wnt Signaling in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Development and Cancer
Carrie Graveel, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist, Department of Cell Biology; Assistant Dean for Student Research Experience, Van Andel Institute Graduate School
MET signaling, RTK signaling in breast cancer progression and therapeutic resistance, mouse models, targeted therapeutic approaches to breast cancer
Brian Haab, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Pancreatic Cancer Identification Using Glycans
Michael Henderson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Neurodegenerative Science; Director, VAI Brain Bank
Protein Pathologies and Genetic Risk in Neurodegeneration
Galen Hostetter, M.D.
Director of Pathology, Pathology and Biorepository Core
Melissa Hoyer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurodegenerative Science
Neuronal Organelle Quality Control and Health
Derek Janssens, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Epigenetic Regulation of Hematopoiesis and Leukemia
Peter A. Jones, Ph.D., D.Sc. (hon)
President and Chief Scientific Officer
Epigenetic Therapies
Russell Jones, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Cancer and Immunometabolism
Connie Krawczyk, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Immunology, Epigenetics and Metabolism
Peter W. Laird, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Epigenetics; Peter and Emajean Cook Endowed Chair in Epigenetics
Cancer Epigenetics
Adelheid (Heidi) Lempradl, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Intergenerational Inheritance of Nutritional States
Hong Li, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Structural Biology
Structural Mechanisms and Therapeutics of RNA Biology
Huilin Li, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, Department of Structural Biology; Ralph and Grace Hauenstein Endowed Chair in Structural Biology
Cryo-EM, Structural Biology, DNA Replication and Epigenetics
Evan Lien, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Diet, Metabolism and Cancer
Darren Moore, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, Department of Neurodegenerative Science; Director, MiND Program; Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson’s Disease Research
Molecular Neurodegeneration
Sara Nowinski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Mitochondria and Metabolism
Gerd Pfeifer, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Epigenetic and Genetic Pathways in Human Disease
J. Andrew Pospisilik, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Epigenetic Origins of Heterogeneity and Disease
Scott Rothbart, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Chromatin and Epigenetic Regulation
Laurent Roybon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Neurodegenerative Science; Director, MiND iPSC Program
Patient-Based Models of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Ryan Sheldon, Ph.D.
Core Director, Mass Spectrometry Core
Xiaobing Shi, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Histone Modifications and Chromatin Regulation
Matt Steensma, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Musculoskeletal Oncology
Eric C. Swindell, Ph.D.
Dean and Chief Academic Officer, Van Andel Institute Graduate School
Piroska Szabó, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Developmental Programming
Tim Triche, Jr., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Epigenetics
Translational Biological Informatics
Travis Walton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Structural Biology
Cytoskeletal Structure in Health and Disease
Bart Williams, Ph.D.
Director, Core Technologies and Services; Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Cell Signaling and Carcinogenesis
Mary Winn, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Core Technologies and Services
Evan Worden, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Structural Biology
Structural Biology of Epigenetic Complexes
Yang Yang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Structural Biology
Structural Basis for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Liman Zhang, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Structural Biology
Structural Biology, Immunology and Pathogen-Host Interactions
Gongpu Zhao, Ph.D.
Director, Cryo-EM Core
Qiang Zhu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurodegenerative Science
Genetics, Epigenetics and Therapeutic Innovation in Neurodegenerative Diseases
