We are interested in the development of DUB inhibitors in cancer therapy. 

My research group is presently investigating the role of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in DNA repair and the role of USP24 in tumor suppression. We recently show that USP24 regulates the stability of p53 and is a potential tumor suppressor. Evidence also indicates that SWI/SNF has a widespread role in tumor suppression, as inactivating mutations in several SWI/SNF subunits have recently been identified at a high frequency in a variety of cancers, including breast cancer.

Besides research, I am actively involved in teaching undergraduate students and MD and PhD graduate students. I am the course director for the MD "Fundamentals of Biomedical Sciences 1 (FBS1)". I am also the course director of BMB519 "Epigenetics and Nutrition". In addition, my laboratory provides an appropriate environment to train graduate students on analysis of DNA repair associated chromatin dynamics and the novel roles of DUBs in DNA repair.  My expertise in DNA damage repair and chromatin biology and history of mentorship of graduate and post-graduate trainees will serve to help provide an environment for trainees to acquire research skills and the intellectual rigor to sustain independent careers in basic and translational cancer research. 

• The Deubiquitinating Enzyme USP24 Is a Regulator of the UV Damage Response
• Whole genome expression profiling shows that BRG1 transcriptionally regulates UV inducible genes and other novel targets in human cells
• Detection of an altered heterochromatin structure in the absence of the nucleotide excision repair protein Rad4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• The chromatin remodeling protein BRG1 modulates BRCA1 response to UV irradiation by regulating ATR/ATM activation