Member Spotlight: Kirsten Sadler (Edepli), PhD

Kirsten Sadler (Edepli), PhD
NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Hometown
Hard to say...I moved a lot. New York City is my most recent home in the country where I was born. I also feel at home in Istanbul.

Current Residence
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Graduate Degree
MMSc and Ph.D.

Postdoc Work
Post doctoral fellowship; Center for Cancer Research; MIT

Current Position
Professor of Biology

ISSCR Participation
Member of the ISSCR 2025 Annual Meeting Program Committee

• What is the current focus of your research?

  I am interested in how the broad epigenetic landscape contributes to regeneration, cancer, and development with a focus on transposon regulation and genome organization. We are interested in how these processes change with aging or other environmental challenges such as toxicant exposures. Our main focus is on the liver but we are now exploring regenerative processes in other tissues, like the octopus arm.

• How would you explain the significance of this work to a lay audience?

  If DNA is the language of life, the epigenome is the interpreter. We are interested in how the epigenome functions to ensure that in healthy cells develop properly or heal in response to injury, as well as how changes in the epigenome change healthy cells into cancer or contribute to the changes that occur during aging.

• What do you find most rewarding about your work?

  I love learning, and I am intrinsically curious. By far the most rewarding part of the job is engaging in scientific discussions about data with my colleagues and members of my team. The diversity of perspectives in my group generates innovative ideas and the curiosity-driven research that generates results is motivating. Another truly rewarding experience is when I meet a scientist for the first time and they tell me that our work made them think about a problem in a new way or try a new line of research - that says that we are making a difference.

• What is the most exciting aspect of your work?

  As a professor and scientist, it is exciting to learn something new - whether it's a new way of looking at a hard-to-solve problem, a novel idea or a new piece of data. In my career, I have been able to participate in the vision of the university and my discipline through opportunities for service, and this variety makes the work exciting. However, the most thrilling are rare "eureka" moments when the data aligns, signaling a breakthrough.

• What led you to become a scientist and to stem cell research?

  I love solving puzzles and I am driven by curiosity. Academic science is the right fit for me as being engaged with discovery and being surrounded by a diverse group of smart people is inspiring. Getting into stem cell research was a natural progression from my interest in how balance growth and identity.

• What guidance would you share in talking with trainees interested in pursuing your area of research?

  There are a lot of quotes that capture my advice and one of them - "I learned the value of hard work by working hard" by Margaret Mead - is something I repeat to my trainees. There is no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and diving in and that is one of the pieces of advice I always give. Courage as a scientist is important, and I advise them to find an environment that supports them, celebrates their success, and gives them the courage to take risks.

• Do you have any mentors or individuals who have inspired you in your stem cell work?

  My post-doc mentor Nancy Hopkins inspires me in all the work I do - stem cell related and otherwise. I am also inspired by the many colleagues that I work with in the summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory who study stem cells from many different animals and many different systems.

• How do you spend your free time?

  Free time? I am working on that concept. I have 3 active kids and my husband is a basketball coach, so I spend a lot of time on the sidelines of basketball courts cheering them on, or some other activity that we love to do as a family. I also spend a lot of time planning trips - we travel a lot and I am the family travel coordinator.

• What is something your peers would be surprised to learn about you?

  If I wasn't a scientist I entertained being either a pathologist or a florist.

• What do you most value about your membership with the ISSCR?

  The colleagues! I am new to ISSCR and find this environment inclusive and inspiring. I feel welcomed.