Areas of Interest
I am interested in gene regulation mechanisms and how they establish cellular differentiation in early development. DNA is organized as chromatin, which is reversibly and dynamically modified by epigenetic mechanisms in order to control the timing and degree of gene expression. My research is focused on KDM5C, a chromatin modifying enzyme that silences gene expression. KDM5C is expressed during early embryonic development when cell lineages are first established, an important event in multicellular organisms. I am investigating KDM5C’s role in establishing cell fate in mouse and human cell culture models. I aim to elucidate the mechanisms that direct KDM5C’s gene silencing activity towards target genes.