Steven Henikoff
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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Primary Section: 26, Genetics Secondary Section: 29, Biophysics and Computational Biology Membership Type:
Member
(elected 2005)
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Research Interests
In contrast to our detailed understanding of genomes, the inheritance of differences in gene expression between cells and tissues and how they are mediated by histones, transcription factors and other chromatin proteins is not well understood. To study these processes, we have introduced tools for high-resolution genome-wide chromatin profiling and have applied them to study chromatin organization and dynamics in a variety of model systems, including yeast, flies and mammals. Among the recent questions we have addressed are: How do transcription factors find their binding sites in DNA packaged into nucleosomes? How are nucleosomes depleted from gene regulatory regions? What is the relationship between nucleosome deposition pathways and chromatin deregulation in disease? Our findings illustrate ways in which chromatin dynamics can play a central role in regulating gene expression and silencing.
