Research Funding

  • June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2030 - Emergent mechanics of mammalian chromosome segregation , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R35GM136420
  • May 15, 2020 - May 14, 2025 - unknown , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: CZ Biohub Investigator, Sponsor Award ID: CZ Biohub
  • January 15, 2021 - January 14, 2023 - unknown , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: UCSF Program in Breakthrough Biomedical Research, Sponsor Award ID: PBBR
  • September 1, 2016 - September 30, 2022 - Center for Cellular Construction , Sophie Dumont, Investigator . Sponsor: NSF, Sponsor Award ID: 1548297
  • September 1, 2019 - June 30, 2021 - Mechanics of the dynamic mammalian kinetochore-microtubule interface , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01GM134132
  • March 1, 2016 - February 28, 2021 - CAREER: Slip-Clutch of Biological Machines: The Kinetochore-Microtubule Interface , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NSF, Sponsor Award ID: 1554139
  • December 1, 2013 - November 30, 2020 - unknown , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program, Sponsor Award ID: Rita Allen
  • September 30, 2015 - May 31, 2020 - Rewiring cellular architecture to probe mechanical signal processing at kinetochores , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: DP2GM119177
  • September 15, 2013 - September 14, 2017 - unknown , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Sloan Research Fellowships, Sponsor Award ID: BR2013-125
  • July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2017 - unknown , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Searle Scholars Program, Sponsor Award ID: 13-SSP-213
  • September 1, 2010 - July 31, 2016 - Spindle forces for chromosome movement , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R00GM094335
  • July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2016 - unknown , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, Sponsor Award ID: SKF-13-053
  • September 1, 2012 - August 31, 2014 - unknown , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: UCSF Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research, Sponsor Award ID: PBBR
  • July 1, 2012 - July 31, 2014 - Dynamics in the tissue state: from normal to tumor and back , Sophie Dumont, Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NCI, Sponsor Award ID: U54CA143836
  • September 1, 2010 - May 31, 2012 - Force generation and detection in the spindle: the case of the kinetochore , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K99GM094335

Education

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA, B.A., 08/95-06/99, Physics
University of Oxford, UK, D.Phil. candidate, 09/99-08/00, Theoretical Physics
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Ph.D., 08/00-12/05, Molecular Biophysics
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Postdoc, 01/06-03/06, Molecular Biophysics
Harvard Society of Fellows, Junior Fellow, 07/06-06/09, Cellular Biophysics
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, Postdoc, 07/06-05/12, Cellular Biophysics

Honors & Awards

  • 2006
    Weintraub Graduate Student Award
  • 2006-2009
    Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows
  • 2013-2015
    Kimmel Cancer Foundation Scholar
  • 2013-2016
    Searle Scholar
  • 2013-2018
    Rita Allen Foundation and Milton E. Cassel Scholar
  • 2015-2020
    NIH New Innovator Award
  • 2016-2021
    NSF CAREER Award
  • 2018
    UCSF Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award
  • 2020
    Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator
  • 2021
    UCSF Byers Award in Basic Science

Selected Publications

  1. Tao J, Tran V, Rux C, Dumont S. A Computational Pipeline for Quantifying Kinetochore Morphological Changes in Live Cells. bioRxiv. 2026 May 28. View on PubMed
  2. Mullin-Bernstein Z, van Wierst S, Garrison C, Cho N, Dumont S. Midzone bundles of the mammalian anaphase spindle are mechanically coupled both locally and globally. bioRxiv. 2026 Apr 10. View on PubMed
  3. Aslan M, d'Amico EA, Cho NH, Taheri A, Perez-Bertoldi JM, Zhao Y, Zhong X, Blaauw M, Carter AP, Dumont S, Yildiz A. Activation and regulation of the dynein-dynactin-NuMA complex. Nat Chem Biol. 2026 Mar 16. View on PubMed
  4. Rux CJ, Chong MK, Myers V, Cho NH, Dumont S. Mechanical force locally damages, remodels, and stabilizes the lattice of spindle microtubules. Curr Biol. 2026 Feb 02; 36(3):760-772.e4. View on PubMed
  5. Tran VM, Tao J, Rux CJ, Siu DG, Rosas-Salvans M, Dumont S. Mammalian metaphase kinetochores are elastic and require condensin for robust structure and function. bioRxiv. 2025 Dec 25. View on PubMed
  6. Sturm G, Hake K, Lefebvre AEYT, Rux CJ, Ivanova D, Millett-Sikking A, Tharp KM, Rao B, Closser M, Waite AJ, Precido-Lopez M, Ritter AT, Dumont S, Lu W, Manley S, Landoni JC, Marshall WF. The biophysical mechanism of mitochondrial pearling. Mol Biol Cell. 2025 Nov 01; 36(11):ar142. View on PubMed
  7. Cho NH, Aslan M, Taheri A, Yildiz A, Dumont S. NuMA mechanically reinforces the spindle independently of its partner dynein. Curr Biol. 2025 Sep 08; 35(17):4084-4095.e5. View on PubMed
  8. Rux CJ, Chong MK, Myers S, Cho NH, Dumont S. Mechanical force locally damages, remodels and stabilizes the lattice of spindle microtubules. bioRxiv. 2025 Jun 06. View on PubMed
  9. Rosas-Salvans M, Rux CJ, Das M, Dumont S. SKAP binding to microtubules reduces friction at the kinetochore-microtubule interface and increases attachment stability under force. Curr Biol. 2025 Apr 21; 35(8):1805-1815.e4. View on PubMed
  10. Caleb J. Rux, Megan K. Chong, Sean Myers, Nathan Cho, Sophie Dumont. BPS2025 - Force-dependent spindle microtubule damage, remodeling, and stabilization. Biophysical Journal. 2025 Feb 1; 124(3):138a. View on PubMed
  11. Nathan Cho, Sophie Dumont. BPS2025 - NuMA mechanically reinforces spindle poles independently of dynein through self-interactions. Biophysical Journal. 2025 Feb 1; 124(3):376a. View on PubMed
  12. Nathan Cho, Sophie Dumont. BPS2025 - NuMA mechanically reinforces spindle poles independently of dynein through self-interactions. Biophysical Journal. 2025 Feb 1; 124(3):476a-477a. View on PubMed
  13. Aslan M, d'Amico EA, Cho NH, Taheri A, Zhao Y, Zhong X, Blaauw M, Carter AP, Dumont S, Yildiz A. Structural and functional insights into activation and regulation of the dynein-dynactin-NuMA complex. bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 03. View on PubMed
  14. Cho NH, Aslan M, Yildiz A, Dumont S. NuMA mechanically reinforces the spindle independently of its partner dynein. bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 01. View on PubMed
  15. Rosas-Salvans M, Rux C, Das M, Dumont S. SKAP binding to microtubules reduces friction at the kinetochore-microtubule interface and increases attachment stability under force. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 08. View on PubMed
  16. Neahring L, Cho NH, He Y, Liu G, Fernandes J, Rux CJ, Nakos K, Subramanian R, Upadhyayula S, Yildiz A, Dumont S. Torques within and outside the human spindle balance twist at anaphase. J Cell Biol. 2024 09 02; 223(9). View on PubMed
  17. Chong MK, Rosas-Salvans M, Tran V, Dumont S. Chromosome size-dependent polar ejection force impairs mammalian mitotic error correction. J Cell Biol. 2024 08 05; 223(8). View on PubMed
  18. Sutanto R, Neahring L, Serra Marques A, Jacobo Jacobo M, Kilinc S, Goga A, Dumont S. The oncogene cyclin D1 promotes bipolar spindle integrity under compressive force. PLoS One. 2024; 19(3):e0296779. View on PubMed
  19. Nathan Cho, Sophie Dumont. NuMA mechanically reinforces mammalian spindle poles independent of its partner dynein. Biophysical Journal. 2024 Feb 1; 123(3):539a. View on PubMed
  20. Miquel Salvans, Sophie Dumont. Probing how the Astrin-SKAP complex reduces friction at the kinetochore-microtubule interface. Biophysical Journal. 2024 Feb 1; 123(3):1a-2a. View on PubMed

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