The physiological form of our genomes is composed of DNA and histone proteins. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of these building-blocks, and the factors that regulate these events, play essential roles in maintaining the integrity of cells, tissues, and ultimately whole organisms. Large-scale sequencing efforts have uncovered that chromatin and epigenetic regulators are broadly altered in human diseases, such as cancer. Most of the focus in the field has been on understanding how chromatin modifying and remodeling enzymes work and how these become dysregulated in disease. The role of chromatin adaptor/ scaffold proteins, which are responsible for assembling these enzymatic complexes, has been largely unexplored. Moreover, a fast evolving area in the chromatin biology field is centered on understanding the catalytic-independent activities and potential scaffolding functions of many chromatin modifying enzymes. The goal of my research program is to elucidate how chromatin adaptors help decode chromatin PTMs, their context-specific effects, and how they regulate gene expression in normal physiology and disease.
Cancer Discovery, 2023
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