Our research addresses the interplay between chromatin, specifically histone post-translational modifications, and DNA damage repair.

Histone proteins are characterized by many different post-translational modifications (PTMs) at many different sites: different patterns are associated with active and inactive genes; different PTMs have been shown to interact, e.g. H3S10 phosphorylation and H3K9 methylation. This diversity and cross-talk suggests a high potential for regulation of events such as gene transcription, DNA replication and DNA repair.

Our initial focus is on the alteration and potential re-establishment of chromatin patterns associated with repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Aberrant DNA damage repair and genomic instability are hallmarks of cancer. The epigenetic nature and role of histone modifications is a fascinating area of research. We aim to contribute to these areas, through the use of both yeast and mammalian model systems coupled with mass spectrometric analysis of histone PTMs.