Diana Hargreaves

Diana Hargreaves is an American biologist and assistant professor at The Salk Institute for Biological Studiesand member of The Salk Cancer Center. Her laboratory focuses on epigenetic regulation by the BAF (SWI/SNF)chromatin remodeling complexes in diverse physiological processes including development, immunity, and diseases such as cancer..

Early life and education

Hargreaves completed her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Haverford College, a leading liberal arts college in Haverford Pennsylvania. Hargreaves obtained her PhD in Immunology at Yale University where she studied in the lab of Ruslan Medzhitov, a leader in the field of innate immunity and pathogen recognition. Her thesis focused on the epigenetic signatures following pathogen recognition by innate immune cells such as macrophages.

Career and research

Following the completion of her Doctoral work, Hargreaves joined the lab of Dr. Gerald Crabtree where she and others uncovered that the genes encoding subunits of the BAF Chromatin remodelling subunits are mutated in ~20% of all human cancers and uncovered mechanisms of BAF complex tumor suppression. Hargreaves was appointed professorship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in 2015 where she continues her focus on the chromatin remodelling complex BAF. Her lab has recently discovered a specific subunit of BAF that is responsible for maintaining cellular pluripotency, an unbiased differentiation state. Hargreaves' work holds potential in the realm of regenerative medicine for use in treating tissue damage and disease. Hargreaves also investigates epigenetic chromatin remodelling with a goal of identifying therapeutic targets that harness the immune system to defend against tumors.

Rewards and honors

• 2019 Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research
• 2016-2018 V Foundation Scholar Award, V Foundation for Cancer Research
• 2014-2018 K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health
• 2013-2014 Ann Schreiber Research Training Program of Excellence Grantee, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
• 2010-2013 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
• 2002-2005 Graduate Fellowship, National Science Foundation