Chris Mullally
M.D./Ph.D. Student
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 did my undergrad at UCLA where I studied neuroscience. I loved neuroscience but my favorite class would have to have been either "History of Music: The Beatles" or "English Literature: Worlds of Neil Gaiman". After graduation, I moved home and worked in a neurogenetics lab at Harvard Med for 4 years which inspired me to apply to an MD PhD program. Over the pandemic, I raised a Bernese Mountain Dog Puppy named River but left her with my mom after getting into Long because San Antonio is no place for a Swiss mountain dog. 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 2021 Spotify Wrapped was: Frank Ocean, Car Seat Headrest, LCD Sound System, Kendrick Lamar, Bon Iver. 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 CD, 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.