Semir Beyaz
Assistant Professor
Cancer Center Member
Ph.D., Harvard University, 2017
[email protected] | 516-367-4128
Are you really what you eat? Our goal is to uncover the precise mechanisms that link nutrition to organismal health and disease states at the cellular and molecular level. A particular focus in our lab is to understand how dietary perturbations affect the immune system and contribute to the risk of diseases that are associated with immune dysfunction such as cancer.
Our laboratory deciphers how nutritional cues and metabolic鈥揺pigenetic cross-talk sculpt cellular networks that sustain healthy tissue function鈥攁nd how their disruption drives maladaptive remodeling in diseases such as colon and endometrial cancers as well as in endometriosis. We integrate genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic profiling with metabolic measurements, biochemical assays, and microbiome analyses to deconstruct the signaling circuits underlying these outcomes. Anchoring our studies in patient-derived tissue specimens and organoid platforms ensures every mechanistic insight is rooted in human biology鈥攁nd directly informs the discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of these debilitating diseases.
Cells respond and adapt to the signals that they receive from their environment. Environmental factors such as nutrients affect cellular states by altering cell state-specific gene expression or metabolic programs. My research group investigates the causal cellular and molecular mechanisms that link nutrition to organismal health and disease. For example, diets that lead to obesity, such as high fat diets are significant environmental risk factors that influence cancer incidence and progression in several tissues. Although the interactions between tumor cells and the immune system play a significant role in tumorigenesis, little is known about how dietary perturbations impact immunity against cancer. Our studies interrogate the functional consequences of diets on immune recognition and response pathways that play critical role in cancer immunity. By identifying the altered gene expression and metabolic programs in the immune system in response to dietary perturbations, our goal is to uncover mechanistic links that can be therapeutically exploited for the treatment of diseases associated with immune dysfunction such as cancer.
I have joined forces with Dr. Tamer Seckin at Northwell Health to tackle endometriosis.
CSHL Fellow Semir Beyaz wins three awards
The Janeway Award, New England Immunology Conference
Trainee Award, American Association of Immunologists
Outstanding Poster Award, International Society for Stem Cell Research
Zhongmei Chen Yong Travel Award for Scientific Excellence, International Society for Stem Cell Research
Merit Award, International Society for Stem Cell Research
Thermo-Fisher Trainee Achievement Award, American Association of Immunologists
Meet the School of Biological Sciences Class of 2026
May 7, 2026
This year鈥檚 six Ph.D. recipients reflect on their time and experiences at CSHL.
Fish oil may increase CTE risk after brain injury
April 7, 2026
A popular supplement may not be as protective after traumatic brain injury as previously assumed.
CSHL develops endometrial cancer organoid platform
March 26, 2026
The Beyaz lab鈥檚 new research program may open the door for improved treatment strategies.
Our Daughters Foundation donates $200,000 to CSHL
March 23, 2026
The group鈥檚 donation will accelerate genetic and immune studies in Semir Beyaz鈥檚 lab, with the potential to impact millions of women worldwide.
Gut health 脿 la CAR T
December 11, 2025
Wouldn鈥檛 you like to be able to eat the way you did when you were younger? A one-dose treatment could help rejuvenate and regenerate the intestines.
Endometriosis Foundation of America commits $10 million to CSHL
May 2, 2025
EndoFound partners with CSHL to open the Seckin Endometriosis Research Center for Women鈥檚 Health at 黑料吃瓜资源.
At the Lab Season 1 Research Rewind: Cancer
October 8, 2024
As the first season of our new podcast winds down, we鈥檙e revisiting all of our episodes with a focus on CSHL鈥檚 cutting-edge cancer research.
At the Lab Episode 12: Cancer cops
June 25, 2024
In this week鈥檚 podcast, CSHL Assistant Professor Semir Beyaz reveals how metastatic breast cancer 鈥榗orrupts鈥 the body鈥檚 immune system.
Women鈥檚 health quiz
March 19, 2024
CSHL research has yielded insights into a number of women鈥檚 health topics, from menopause to breast cancer. Take this quiz to see how far we鈥檝e come.
CSHL PFF student named Regeneron scholar
February 5, 2024
Griffin Hon, a senior at Syosset High School, studied bowel disease alongside CSHL Assistant Professor Semir Beyaz using single-cell sequencing.
Selected Publications
1 Apr 2021 | Cell Stem Cell | 28(4):598-599
Beyaz, Semir; Mana, Miyeko; Yilmaz, Ömer;  
15 Oct 2020 | Mucosal Immunology
Gaudino, S; Beaupre, M; Lin, X; Joshi, P; Rathi, S; McLaughlin, P; Kempen, C; Mehta, N; Eskiocak, O; Yueh, B; Blumberg, R; van der Velden, A; Shroyer, K; Bialkowska, A; Beyaz, S; Kumar, P;  
8 Sep 2020 | bioRxiv
Beyaz, S; Roper, J; Bauer-Rowe, K; Xifaras, M; Ergin, I; Dohnalova, L; Biton, M; Shekar, K; Mou, H; Eskiocak, O; Ozata, D; Papciak, K; Chung, C; Almeqdadi, M; Fein, M; Valle-Encinas, E; Erdemir, A; Dogum, K; Garipcan, A; Meyer, H; Fox, J; Elinav, E; Kucukural, A; Kumar, P; McAleer, J; Thaiss, C; Regev, A; Orkin, S; Yilmaz, O;  
3 Feb 2020 | Nature Reviews Immunology | 20(5):308-320
Ordovas-Montanes, J; Beyaz, S; Rakoff-Nahoum, S; Shalek, A;  
25 Jul 2019 | Gastroenterology | 157(5)
Luo, Y; Yang, Y; Liu, M; Wang, D; Wang, F; Bi, Y; Ji, J; Li, S; Liu, Y; Chen, R; Huang, H; Wang, X; Swidnicka-Siergiejko, A; Janowitz, T; Beyaz, S; Wang, G; Xu, S; Bialkowska, A; Luo, C; Pin, C; Liang, G; Lu, X; Wu, M; Shroyer, K; Wolff, R; Plunkett, W; Ji, B; Li, Z; Li, E; Li, X; Yang, V; Logsdon, C; Abbruzzese, J; Lu, W;  
All Publications
1 Apr 2025 | Cell Stem Cell
Bhattacharya, Swarnabh; Tie, Guodong; Singh, Pratik; Malagola, Ermanno; Eskiocak, Onur; He, Ruiyang; Kraiczy, Judith; Gu, Wei; Perlov, Yakov; Alici-Garipcan, Aybuke; Beyaz, Semir; Wang, Timothy; Zhou, Qiao; Shivdasani, Ramesh;  
8 Feb 2025 | bioRxiv
Bhattacharya, Swarnabh; Tei, Guodong; Singh, Pratik; Malagola, Ermanno; Eskiocak, Onur; He, Ruiyang; Kraiczy, Judith; Gu, Wei; Perlov, Yakov; Beyaz, Semir; Wang, Timothy; Zhou, Qiao; Shivdasani, Ramesh;  
20 Oct 2024 | Bio-protocol | 14(20):e5093
Barbi, Mali; Gowthaman, Divya; Katcher, Arielle; Gorman, Megan; Yueh, Brian; Nizam, Aaron; Chung, Charlie; Akyildiz, Erdogan; Frimer, Marina; Goldberg, Gary; Beyaz, Semir;  
7 Aug 2024 | Nature
Soula, Mariluz; Unlu, Gokhan; Welch, Rachel; Chudnovskiy, Aleksey; Uygur, Beste; Shah, Vyom; Alwaseem, Hanan; Bunk, Paul; Subramanyam, Vishvak; Yeh, Hsi-Wen; Khan, Artem; Heissel, Søren; Goodarzi, Hani; Victora, Gabriel; Beyaz, Semir; Birsoy, K谋vanç;  
11 Jun 2024 | Nature Microbiology
Tierney, Braden; Kim, JangKeun; Overbey, Eliah; Ryon, Krista; Foox, Jonathan; Sierra, Maria; Bhattacharya, Chandrima; Damle, Namita; Najjar, Deena; Park, Jiwoon; Garcia Medina, J; Houerbi, Nadia; Meydan, Cem; Wain Hirschberg, Jeremy; Qiu, Jake; Kleinman, Ashley; Al-Ghalith, Gabriel; MacKay, Matthew; Afshin, Evan; Dhir, Raja; Borg, Joseph; Gatt, Christine; Brereton, Nicholas; Readhead, Benjamin; Beyaz, Semir; Venkateswaran, Kasthuri; Wiseman, Kelly; Moreno, Juan; Boddicker, Andrew; Zhao, Junhua; Lajoie, Bryan; Scott, Ryan; Altomare, Andrew; Kruglyak, Semyon; Levy, Shawn; Church, George; Mason, Christopher;