Introduction
Our laboratory is exploring cellular signaling mechanisms that regulate transcription and genome stability. We are interested in establishing a molecular understanding of how aberrant signal transduction activities contribute to genetic diseases such as cancer. To accomplish this, we develop novel technologies that integrate chemical biology, biochemistry, and cell biology to discover, reconstitute, and interrogate critical biological activities.
Our favorite conversations:
- Cancer biology
- Chemical biology and protein semi-synthesis
- Genome integrity
- Protein post-translational modifications
- Transcription regulation and epigenetics
Our favorite technologies:
In the tissue culture room:
- Human cancer cell lines
- Genetics
- Small molecule effectors
In the chemistry hood:
- Peptide synthesis
- Unnatural/modified amino acid synthesis
- Native chemical ligation (protein semi-synthesis)
In the test tube:
- Molecular cloning
- Recombinant protein expression (in bacterial/eukaryotic/mammalian systems)
- Enzyme kinetics
- Biophysics (protein-protein interactions, structural biology)
Some of our hobbies:
- Installing post-translational modifications onto reconstituted chromatin templates
- Delivering semi-synthetic proteins to cancer cells
- Introducing recombinant protein activities to cell lysates
- Introducing cell lysate activities to recombinant protein
