RESEARCH IN THE LAB
Our work focuses on the formation and regulation of chromatin domains and their ultimate roles in epigenetic genome regulation. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms of heterochromatin establishment and function. Heterochromatin operates in organisms from yeast to humans to determine cell identity and maintain genome stability by silencing genes. Because heterochromatin functions in such central processes, misregulation of this genomic structure can have dire consequences such as cancer or abnormal development. Our work investigates the mechanisms by which silencing is carried out. We focus on two pathways: long noncoding RNA- and sirtuin-mediated heterochromatin. Our group approaches the study of these pathways by a combination of in vitro assembly of chromatin domains, mechanistic biochemistry, proteomic analysis, and genome-wide chromatin profiling to understand the complex superstructural "neighborhoods" of chromosomes.
Our work focuses on the formation and regulation of chromatin domains and their ultimate roles in epigenetic genome regulation. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms of heterochromatin establishment and function. Heterochromatin operates in organisms from yeast to humans to determine cell identity and maintain genome stability by silencing genes. Because heterochromatin functions in such central processes, misregulation of this genomic structure can have dire consequences such as cancer or abnormal development. Our work investigates the mechanisms by which silencing is carried out. We focus on two pathways: long noncoding RNA- and sirtuin-mediated heterochromatin. Our group approaches the study of these pathways by a combination of in vitro assembly of chromatin domains, mechanistic biochemistry, proteomic analysis, and genome-wide chromatin profiling to understand the complex superstructural "neighborhoods" of chromosomes.
|
Aaron M. Johnson, PhD
Associate Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics University of Colorado School of Medicine |
Recent AJ Lab News June 2025 Mia Chaw, and recent graduate from CU Boulder joined us for the summer to do research on the PRC2 project Frances Zorensky (PRA) will be departing from the lab this month, and will be starting in the Molecular Biology graduate program here at CU Anschutz in the fall. September 2024 Samuel Gonzalez joined the lab as a Postdoc August 2024 Welcome Lily Beck, Edgardo Linares, and Jenna Kotz as graduate students in the lab June 2024 Welcome Samuel Derning and Elizabeth Butter, our undergraduate summer interns February 2024 Welcome Nicole Savoie as a new PRA! August 2023 Welcome Frances Zorensky as a new PRA, and Lily Beck (STBB) and Edgardo Linares (BSP) as rotation students! |