Our research is focused on to understand how a stable genome is maintained from generation to generation. We study DNA replication and DNA repair by combining well established genetic and biochemical tools and techniques with Next-Gen sequencing.

Current projects in our group focus on the following:

1. Genome-wide mapping of ribonucleotides in DNA

More than a million ribonucleotides are incorporated into the human genome per round of replication. We are interested in the causes and consequences of these ribonucleotides in our genome. We study where those ribonucleotides are incorporated in a number of model organisms including virus, yeast, mice and human. A number of pathways may be involved in removing these ribonucleotides. We analyze if ribonucleotides are differentially incorporated in  various mutants that lack specific genes which codes for proteins that may be involved in the processing or removal of ribonucleotides in DNA.

2. Development of new methods to map genome-wide ribonucleotides in DNA

Based on our recently developed HydEn-seq protocol to genome-wide map ribonucleotides in DNA, we continue to improve and develop tools to study where ribonucleotides are incorporated into our genome.

We expect that a better understanding of how ribonucleotides in DNA contribute to genome stability and instability  will ultimately impact biomedical science.