The DNA Replication Group studies mechanisms in genome stability and epigenetics using biochemical, genetic, single molecule and structural approaches. We are particularly interested in disease associated with these processes and the development of specific inhibitors for therapeutic purposes.
The objective of the Group is to discover new mechanisms in the initiation and elongation of DNA replication and to understand the function of replication factors in hetero-chromatin formation and epigenetic memory. We have reconstituted the loading of the eukaryotic replicative helicase onto DNA, an essential step in DNA replication, and use this system to address the mechanism and regulation of two key events: the loading of the eukaryotic DNA helicase onto DNA and the kinase-dependent activation of the helicase. More recently, we have also started to investigate the role of the helicase loading factors in epigenetic memory, which has important implications for human disease and ageing.
The current work of the Group focusses on three projects: