Laurie A. Boyer, Ph.D.

Research

The overall goal of my lab is to understand how chromatin structure influences gene expression programs and ultimately cell fate and how failure to establish proper chromatin states can contribute to disease. To address these questions, we use a combination of genomic, genetic, biochemical and cell biological tools to precisely characterize the factors involved in regulating chromatin structure, to determine how these factors are recruited to genomic sites, and to investigate how these different regulatory pathways cooperate to organize the genome. We are particularly interested in how specific chromosomal domains are assembled and propagated in ES cells, adult stem cells, and somatic cells. Discovering how gene expression programs are regulated is required to improve our understanding of development and disease, and for realizing the therapeutic potential of stem cells.