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Vision

We wish to understand how genes are maintained repressed through prolonged time and countless cell divisions. We study the detailed molecular events that underlie the recruitment and regulation of chromatin-modifying complexes by their co‐factor proteins, DNA and RNAs.

Chromatin-modifying enzymatic complexes are required in order to maintain the repressed state of thousands of genes during cell proliferation and differentiation. By doing so, chromatin-modifying complexes keep genes "off" as long as their products are not needed. Dysregulation of chromatin-modifying complexes leads to the progression of diseases, including various types of cancer and congenital growth disorders.

 

We seek to understand, down to atomic resolution, how the function of chromatin-modifying complexes is modulated by their various binding partners in the nucleus and within chromatin. Our main focus is histone-modifying complexes that mark chromatin for gene repression, including polycomb repressive complexes and their associated factors. A strong focus of our research program is the regulation of chromatin-modifying complexes by the most immediate product of genes: RNA. Read more about our research here.

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