Chris Mullally
Chris Mullally is a graduate student in the South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD Program) studying mechanisms of DNA mutagenesis in cancer under the mentorship of Reuben Harris, Ph.D. For his research, Chris is studying the endogenous regulatory mechanisms of APOBEC3 enzymes, a major contributor to mutagenesis across human cancer. For his clinical specialty, Chris is considering pursuing Hematology and Oncology.
About Me
Hi! My name is Chris. I grew up on the south shore of Boston in a sleepy beach town called Hull. I spent a few years in Dubai to start high school which I would call some of the most formative of my life. After finishing up high school in Boston, I went to UCLA for undergrad, where I studied neuroscience. After graduation, I moved home and worked in a neurogenetics lab at Harvard Medical School for 4 years, which inspired me to pursue research on the mechanisms of somatic mutagenesis and their impact on human health. This, in turn, led me to apply to and ultimately select UT Health San Antonio (UT Health)’s South Texas MSTP to receive my MD PhD training as it boasts a world-class community of DNA damage and repair scientists I am currently going into the third year of my research training. Most recently, I adopted a border collie named Murphy and he is a very good boy. I hope to make a career as a physician-scientist and continue to do science with my friends.
Hobbies/Interests
I love listening to music; the top of my 2024 Spotify Wrapped was: Frank Ocean, Waxahatchee, LCD Soundsystem, Kendrick Lamar and Vampire Weekend. I love to play guitar and take pictures. I recently bought a 1800's dresser which I am very excited about because the veneer is very old tiger maple that looks exactly like it sounds.
Research Topic
Mechanisms of mutagenesis, cancer biology
Why I chose MD/PhD
I love the creativity involved in designing experiments to ask specific questions as a scientist and the ability to be able to make a meaningful difference in the life and health of an individual as a doctor. I chose the career path that would let me do both.
Why I chose MD/PhD at UT Health San Antonio
The administration listens and cares. The PIs are top-notch for what I want to study. The trainees are the kinds of people I wanted to befriend and do science with.
Post-bac work or other affiliations
Post-grad work at Harvard Medical School
Education
B.S., Neuroscience, University of California-Los Angeles, 2017
Publications
Krienen, F. M., Goldman, M., Zhang, Q., C. H. del Rosario, R., Florio, M., Machold, R., Saunders, A., Levandowski, K., Zaniewski, H., Schuman, B., Wu, C., Lutservitz, A., Mullally, C. D., Reed, N., Bien, E., Bortolin, L., Fernandez-Otero, M., Lin, J. D., Wysoker, A., … McCarroll, S. A. (2020). Innovations present in the primate interneuron repertoire. Nature, 586(7828), 262–269. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2781-z Smith, R. S., Florio, M., Akula, S. K., Neil, J. E., Wang, Y., Hill, R. S., Goldman, M., Mullally, C. D., Reed, N., Bello-Espinosa, L., Flores-Sarnat, L., Monteiro, F. P., Erasmo, C. B., Pinto e Vairo, F., Morava, E., Barkovich, A. J., Gonzalez-Heydrich, J., Brownstein, C. A., McCarroll, S. A., & Walsh, C. A. (2021). Early role for a na + ,k + -atpase ( atp1a3 ) in Brain Development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(25). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023333118 Ling E, Nemesh J, Goldman M, Kamitaki N, Reed N, Handsaker RE, Genovese G, Vogelgsang JS, Gerges S, Kashin S, Ghosh S, Esposito JM, Morris K, Meyer D, Lutservitz A, Mullally C. D., Wysoker A, Spina L, Neumann A, Hogan M, Ichihara K, Berretta S, McCarroll SA. A concerted neuron-astrocyte program declines in ageing and schizophrenia. Nature. 2024 Mar;627(8004):604-611. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07109-5. Epub 2024 Mar 6. PMID: 38448582; PMCID: PMC10954558.
Handsaker, R. E., Kashin, S., Reed, N. M., Tan, S., Lee, W.-S., McDonald, T. M., Morris, K., Kamitaki, N.,
Mullally, C. D., Morakabati, N. R., Goldman, M., Lind, G., Kohli, R., Lawton, E., Hogan, M., Ichihara, K., Berretta, S., & McCarroll, S. A. (2025). Long somatic DNA-repeat expansion drives neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease.
Cell,
188(3).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.11.038
Durfee, C., Bergstrom, E.N., M. Díaz-Gay, M., Zhou, Y., Temiz, N.A., Ibrahim, M.A., Nandi, S.P., Wang, Y., Liu, X., Steele, C.D., Proehl, J., Carpenter, M.A.
, Mullally, C.D., Stefanovska, B., Troness, B., Vogel, R.I., Argyris, P.P., Alexandrov, L.B. & Harris, R.S. (2025) Tobacco smoke carcinogens exacerbate APOBEC mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.
Nature, in review.
bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.18.633716
