| INO80.com | |||||
| research | people | publications | location | links | |
 snowshen@mac.com |
Dr. Xuetong "Snow" Shen, Ph.D., Principal Investigator I grew up in Inner Mongolia, China. I received my B.S. degree in Biophysics from Peking University in 1991. I spent the next five years in Dr. Martin A. Gorovsky's lab at the University of Rochester, studying the functions of histones in Tetrahymena, and received my Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology in 1996. I continued to focus on chromatin research and enjoyed a six-year postdoctoral training with Dr. Carl Wu at NIH, where I characterized a new class of chromatin remodeling complexes, called the INO80 class. I am an Associate Professor at MD Anderson and have been here since the Fall of 2002. My lab is interested in the role of chromatin in nuclear functions. |
 amorriso@mdanderson.org |
Dr. Ashby Morrison, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow Ph.D. received from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. My current research project involves investigations of the activities of the INO80 chromatin-remodeling complex in DNA repair. Chromatin-remodeling factors alter histones and DNA to assist nuclear processes often regulated by the structure and form of chromatin. While the role of chromatin-remodeling complexes in transcription and replication has been well characterized, until recently the mechanism by which DNA repair proteins manipulate the chromatin environment has remained unknown. As described in Morrison et al., we recently revealed a link between chromatin-remodeling complexes and DNA repair. We discovered that the INO80 ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complex directly influences the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. The participation of the INO80 complex in DNA repair is mediated by a direct interaction of the complex with the histone H2A that is phosphorylated (gamma-H2AX) in chromatin regions surrounding double-strand breaks. H2A is phosphorylated by the ATM/ATR kinases, which play central roles in directing the DNA damage response. Additionally, genetic analyses demonstrate that components of the INO80 complex genetically interact with members of the RAD52 homologous recombination pathway. |
 ybao@mdanderson.org |
Dr. Yunhe Bao, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow I got my Ph.D. degree in 2005 from Dr. Karolin Luger's Lab at Colorado State University. Now I am working as a postdoc in Dr. Xuetong Shen's lab. In eukaryotic cells, DNA is packaged into a protein-DNA assembly called chromatin, which is the natural substrate for DNA repair. However, little is known about how chromatin changes in response to DNA damage. I am going to use the yeast system with its powerful genetic and biochemical tools to study chromatin responses to DNA damage. Currently, my project is focused on post-translational modifications of chromatin modifiers upon DNA damage. |
 mingchen@mdanderson.org |
Mingming Chen, Ph.D. Candidate I graduated from Wuhan University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Cell and Developmental Biology in 2000. Then I entered the graduate program at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan Institute of Virology. My thesis project was on functional characterization of bros (baculovirs repeat ORFs) in HaSNPV. After I earned the Master's of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, I enrolled in GSBS, UT Health Science Center, Houston in 2003. Under the guidance of Dr. Shen, I started my project on Functional Analysis of ARP5 and ARP8 in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. |
 kfalbo@mdanderson.org |
Karina B. Falbo, Ph.D. Candidate I was born and raised in Buenos Aires Argentina. After studying business at the High School of Commerce Carlos Pellegrini, I received a Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Buenos Aires, School of Natural and Exact Sciences. As an undergrad I joined Dr. Vasquez's Lab at the University of Buenos Aires, investigating the heme pathway regulation in a liver cancer model. In 2000, I joined Dr. Bal de Kier Joffe's lab to investigate the role of the PKC (protein kinase C) isozymes in the regulation of malignant transformation in breast epithelial cells. In 2001, I moved to Texas as a Research Trainee and currently, I am a third year Ph.D. student in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park Research Division. During my first year at GSBS I was awarded the Virginia Harris Cockrell Endowment Fund from UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park Research Division, and this year I was awarded with the Rosalie B. Hite fellowship. I am currently investigating the role of chromatin remodeling in DNA replication - specifically, the role of INO80 in the mechanisms that avoid DNA damage generation during replication. |
 twehr@mdanderson.org |
Tammy Wehr, M.F.A, Research Assistant II After receiving my bachelor's degree with a double-major in psychology and communications from New York University where I became interested in neurochemistry, I went back to school, graduating with a second bachelor's degree in chemistry from SUNY Purchase. I then worked as an organic chemist in drug discovery at a pharmaceutical company for four years creating novel, highly potent molecules to inhibit matrix metalloproteases in osteoarthritis and cancer. When the internet boom struck, I began using my computer and communications experience from my NYU communications degree to create websites. I went on to get a master of fine arts degree in computer art from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In the Shen lab, I am doing biochemistry research on proteins involved in the DNA damage response, studying posttranslational modification of chromatin remodeling complexes, and creating the INO80.com website. |
 jxiao@mdanderson.org |
Jing Xiao, Research Assistant I I got my Bachelor's degree in Chinese Medicine Pharmacy at the Chinese Medicine of Chengdu University, in Sichuan P.R. China, then I worked as a pharmacist in Tian Jin for three years. In 2001, I went to Colorado, and I got my Master's degree in Computer Information Systems at Colorado State University in 2005. Now I am working as a Research Assistant in Snow Shen's lab. I enjoy this job very much and I hope I can learn something about cell and molecular biology. |
 shenninger@mdanderson.org |
Sarah Henninger, Administrator I was hired at Science Park in May 2001 after working for the Texas Department of Health for four years, including the state EMS and the Texas Board of Health offices. I started working for Dr. Shen in 2003, shortly after he joined Science Park. My primary role for Dr. Shen (and Walker and Vasquez) is to facilitate the grant submission and continuation process of their research grants. |
| mdanderson shen lab |