The major focus of our laboratory is to elucidate the biological role of lysine methylation in the modulation of intracellular signaling pathways. In our research we utilize interdisciplinary biochemical and cellular approaches together with cutting-edge genomic and proteomic tools to decipher the molecular mechanisms by which lysine methylation through epigenetics programs regulates oncogenic and cell differentiation processes. We aim to identify new methylation events on histone and non-histone proteins; define the molecular mechanisms by which these methyl marks are generated and transduced; to unravel the biological functions of the methylation events.
Current research directions in the lab are:
- Functional interplay between protein methylation and chromatin biology during oncogenic, muscle differentiation and cell size determination processes.
- Novel cross-talk between Lysine-methyltransferases and micro-RNAs in mammary cancer models.
- Small-molecule and rational-design peptide screens to modulate epigenetics programs in lung cancer prevention.
- To further develop peptide and protein microarrays technologies focusing on protein lysine methylation.
