Please note, change in the lecturer:

Dr. Rafael Casellas, Genomics and Immunity division, NIAMS, NIH, USA
How nuclear structure regulates transcription

Host: Subhash K. Tripathi (sukutr@utu.fi)

Our main goal is to unravel the nuclear events that drive peripheral activation of B lymphocytes. From genome-wide changes in epigenetics, chromatin architecture, and transcriptional activation, to recombination and hypermutation of antibody genes. Another major interest is to understand how deregulation of these mechanisms leads to B cell tumorigenesis. To achieve these goals, our team combines a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, including genome editing, nanoscopy, in situ Hi-C, cryo-EM, and bioinformatic tools.

Selected publications

Rao SSP, Huang SC, Glenn St Hilaire B, Engreitz JM, Perez EM, Kieffer-Kwon KR, Sanborn AL, Johnstone SE, Bascom GD, Bochkov ID, Huang X, Shamim MS, Shin J, Turner D, Ye Z, Omer AD, Robinson JT, Schlick T, Bernstein BE, Casellas R, Lander ES, Aiden EL. (2017) Cohesin Loss Eliminates All Loop Domains. Cell 171(2):305-320.e24

Kieffer-Kwon KR, Nimura K, Rao SSP, Xu J, Jung S, Pekowska A, Dose M, Stevens E, Mathe E, Dong P, Huang SC, Ricci MA, Baranello L, Zheng Y, Tomassoni Ardori F, Resch W, Stavreva D, Nelson S, McAndrew M, Casellas A, Finn E, Gregory C, St Hilaire BG, Johnson SM, Dubois W, Cosma MP, Batchelor E, Levens D, Phair RD, Misteli T, Tessarollo L, Hager G, Lakadamyali M, Liu Z, Floer M, Shroff H, Aiden EL, Casellas R. (2017) Myc Regulates Chromatin Decompaction and Nuclear Architecture during B Cell Activation. Mol Cell. 67(4):566-578.e10

Canela A, Maman Y, Jung S, Wong N, Callen E, Day A, Kieffer-Kwon KR, Pekowska A, Zhang H, Rao SSP, Huang SC, Mckinnon PJ, Aplan PD, Pommier Y, Aiden EL, Casellas R, Nussenzweig A. (2017) Genome Organization Drives Chromosome Fragility. Cell 170(3):507-521.e18

Casellas R, Basu U, Yewdell WT, Chaudhuri J, Robbiani DF, Di Noia JM. (2016) Mutations, kataegis and translocations in B cells: understanding AID promiscuous activity. Nat Rev Immunol 16(3):164-76.

Aiden EL, Casellas R. (2015) Somatic Rearrangement in B Cells: It’s (Mostly) Nuclear Physics. Cell 162(4):708-11.