What do we study?

Before they divide, vertebrate cells copy six billion base pairs of DNA with almost perfect fidelity. We study how they accomplish this amazing feat. We ask how replication machines are assembled and disassembled at the appropriate time and place, and how they overcome DNA damage and other obstacles. Our work sheds light on the etiology of diseases such as cancer, bone marrow failure, aging, and neurodegeneration.

What’s our approach?

We use Xenopus laevis frog egg extracts, which recapitulate essentially all aspects of genome maintenance and are therefore like a “cell in a test tube.” Using this highly tractable system in combination with classical biochemistry, single molecule imaging, and cell-based studies, we have discovered new DNA replication and repair mechanisms, many of which are mutated in human diseases (see Research).

Why join the Walter Lab?

The Walter laboratory is a welcoming and highly interactive environment. Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows share reagents, expertise, and ideas to reach their common goal of understanding genome maintenance in health and disease. Walter lab alumni are successful in obtaining group leader, post-doctoral, industry, and other positions (see alumni). Post-docs who start their own groups are free to take their projects with them.

News

Congratulations to Ben Stinson

Ben has accepted an Assistant Professor position in the Dept. of Radiation Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Congratulations and good luck, Ben!

News

Tycho and Anisa’s paper on Trim-Away is now in press

Tycho and Anisa’s paper on Trim-Away is now in press. Check it out at: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(23)00136-5

News

Justin’s last paper on DNA-protein cross-link (DPC) repair was just accepted at Mol Cell.

Justin’s last paper on DNA-protein cross-link (DPC) repair was just accepted at Mol Cell. It shows that the ATPase FANCJ unfolds the DPC in preparation for proteolysis. Congrats, Justin (in absentia)! Thanks to our amazing collaborators Julian Stingele, Denitsa Yaneva, and Max Donsbach, who helped make it happen.

News

Post-doc Alex Wu has accepted a position at Arrakis Therapeutics. Best of luck, Alex!

Post-doc Alex Wu has accepted a position at Arrakis Therapeutics.

Best of luck, Alex!

News