Positions
- Professor
-
Molecular and Human Genetics
²ÝÁñÉçÇøÈë¿Ú
Houston, TX US
- Member
-
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
²ÝÁñÉçÇøÈë¿Ú
Houston, Texas United States
Education
- PhD from Copernicus University and Jacques Monod Institute
- 01/1999 - Torun/Paris, Poland/France
- Postdoctoral Fellowship at Brandeis University
- 06/2005 - Waltham, Massachusetts United States
Honors & Awards
- Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Award
- 01/2009 - 01/2010
- President’s Award for Innovative Research
- ²ÝÁñÉçÇøÈë¿Ú (06/2014)
Professional Interests
- Genome Instability
- Molecular mechanisms and regulation of DNA recombination
Professional Statement
DNA recombination is ubiquitous and essential for DNA-based life. Recombination repairs DNA gaps and breaks that occur during replication or are induced in meiosis. Mutation in human genes involved in homologous recombination results in genome instability and diseases including a large fraction of inherited breast and ovarian cancers, Nijmegen breakage syndrome, ataxia telangiectasia, Bloom syndrome, Fanconi anemia, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome and others. Eukaryotes show a very high degree of conservation of mechanisms and protein components of recombination. This offers a great potential for using model organisms to study DNA recombination processes. We use budding yeast, given the extensive genetic and molecular approaches available.Our research goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms of homologous recombination and the role different proteins play during recombination. More specifically we are focusing on the function of DNA helicases and newly identified in genetic screen proteins in DNA repair. The main experimental model is recombination induced by a single double-strand-break. This assay allows us to follow the kinetics of all steps in recombination at the level of DNA strand exchange and protein-DNA interaction. The results from our projects will constitute the foundation for studying DNA recombination in human cells and will provide insight into molecular basis of genetic instability observed in cancer.
Websites
Selected Publications
- Yu Y, Pham N, Xia B, Papusha A, Wang G, Yan Z, Peng G, Chen K, Ira G "Dna2 nuclease deficiency results in large and complex DNA insertions at chromosomal breaks." Nature. 2018;564:287–290.
- Mayle R, Campbell IM, Beck CR, Yang Y, Wilson M, Shaw CA, Bjergbaek L, Lupski JR, Ira G "." Science. 2015 Aug 14;349:742-747.
- Wilson MA, Kwon Y, Xu Y, Chung WH, Chi P, Niu H, Mayle R, Chen X, Malkova A, Sung P, Ira G "." Nature. 2013;502(7471):393-6. Pubmed PMID:
- Chen X, Cui D, Papusha A, Zhang X, Chu CD, Tang J, Chen K, Pan X, Ira G "." Nature. 2012 Sep 27;489(7417):576-80. Pubmed PMID:
- Chen X, Niu H, Chung WH, Zhu Z, Papusha A, Shim EY, Lee SE, Sung P, Ira G "." Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol.. 2011;18(9):1015-9. Pubmed PMID:
- Niu H, Chung WH, Zhu Z, Kwon Y, Zhao W, Chi P, Prakash R, Seong C, Liu D, Lu L, Ira G, Sung P "." Nature. 2010 Sep 2;467(7311):108-11. Pubmed PMID:
- Prakash R, Satory D, Dray E, Papusha A, Scheller J, Kramer W, Krejci L, Klein H, Haber JE, Sung P, Ira G "." Genes Dev.. 2009 Jan 1;23(1):67-79. Pubmed PMID:
- Zhu Z, Chung WH, Shim EY, Lee SE, Ira G "." Cell. 2008 Sep 19;134(6):981-94. Pubmed PMID:
- Mayle R, Campbell IM, Beck CR, Yu Y, Wilson M, Shaw CA, Bjergbaek L, Lupski JR, Ira G "DNA REPAIR. Mus81 and converging forks limit the mutagenicity of replication fork breakage.." Science. 2015;349:742-7.
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