Areas of Interest
I am interested in understanding mechanisms of epigenetic transcriptional regulation during development and in disease. The focus of my lab is to interrogate epigenetic inheritance through the study of X-chromosome inactivation. I plan to study how reactivating silenced genes on the inactive X-chromosome in females can be used to restore expression of X-linked genes that are mutated on the active X-chromosome. In my project, I will analyze how modulating KDM5C levels - a demethylase enzyme that orchestrates X-inactivation in female cells - can reactivate genes on the inactive-X chromosome. This strategy has implications for human diseases such as Rett Syndrome and CDKL5, both of which are due to heterozygous mutations in X-linked genes. I want to understand the biological mechanisms that lead to disease and employ epigenetic approaches to correct genetic anomalies.