Research and Scholarship
For over a century, scientists have been fascinated with the cell’s blue print of life: the genome. In a human cell the genome consists of 23 different chromosomes compiled from super coiled strands of deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA). Once the Human Genome Project completed decoding the entire 2 meters of DNA in a cell in 2012, scientists discovered that the actual coding regions of DNA only make up 2% of the genome. However, what sequencing has really revealed to us is that nearly all, or the remaining 98%, of the 3.2 million base pairs found in the human genome comprises non-coding regions of DNA. These regions include introns (segments within coding regions that are removed from the messenger RNA after transcription), promoter regions (segments upstream of a gene that typically initiate transcription upon binding certain proteins and/or small molecules), and telomeres (repetitive sequences of DNA found at the ends of chromosome that aid in protecting coding regions upstream). Interestingly, scientists have recently found that a number of these non-coding regions contain sequences that are able to form non-helical secondary structures, and just as we see in proteins, these secondary structures are believed to play important roles in the functions of these non-coding regions. My previous research as a graduate student in Dr. David E. Graves’ laboratory at UAB encompasses the biophysical characterization of these non-helical DNA structures commonly found in these non-coding regions.
A number of these DNA sequences have been found to play a role in diseases such as cancer and by studying the structure and thermodynamics of these non-helical DNA fragments, such as G-quadruplex, we can discover their biological roles, target them for drug development and utilize them for Cell-Free DNA diagnostics.
To learn about my research and previous projects, please follow the links below:
A number of these DNA sequences have been found to play a role in diseases such as cancer and by studying the structure and thermodynamics of these non-helical DNA fragments, such as G-quadruplex, we can discover their biological roles, target them for drug development and utilize them for Cell-Free DNA diagnostics.
To learn about my research and previous projects, please follow the links below: