Jill Bargonetti-Chavarria ’85

Jill Bargonetti-Chavarria (Biology) is a renowned cancer researcher, Hunter College professor, winner of multiple awards, and innovator in the education of minorities in science.

In 2026, she was named Distinguished Professor of biochemistry and biology by the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. The title is reserved for select faculty members whose work meets the highest standards of excellence and is the highest academic honor conferred by the institution.

Bargonetti-Chavarria has researched aspects of DNA damage cause by chemotherapeutic drugs. She has received research grants from the National Science Foundation, and in 2024 and 2025 participated in studies sponsored by National Institutes of Health: Basic Mechanisms in Cancer Health Disparities and Cancer Cell Biology.

She also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of METAvivor, an organization dedicated to increasing awareness of advanced breast cancer and equity in research and patient support.

Following her years at Purchase, Bargonetti-Chavarria went on to complete her MS and PhD at New York University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University. 

Since 1994, Bargonetti-Chavarria oversees the  Bargonetti  Lab at Hunter College, where her team uses genetically engineered tools to research breast cancer.