Dr. Hainer received her Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Pittsburgh for work on gene regulation in the laboratory of Joe Martens, performed her postdoctoral studies on chromatin regulation of coding and non-coding RNAs in stem cells at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the laboratory of Tom Fazzio, and joined the department in 2018.
The genetic information for a human cell is encoded in ~2 meters of DNA, compacted into a nucleus of only 6-10 micrometers in diameter. This remarkable level of compaction is achieved through interactions between DNA and histone proteins, forming the nucleosome which is the fundamental repeating unit of chromatin.
How can such a seemingly static and densely packed structure accommodate the spatial and temporal precision required for DNA-templated processes? How is it that we still lack a complete understanding of the mechanisms regulating chromatin, when the dynamic alteration to chromatin structure underlies nearly every aspect of cellular function?
Our lab is driven by a desire to uncover fundamental principles of chromatin dynamics that enable precise cellular processes and to understand the regulatory proteins that govern these dynamics. We investigate how chromatin-associated factors orchestrate complex transcriptional networks and aim to translate these insights into a molecular understanding of human disease.
Our research has three major themes:
Deciphering how chromatin regulatory factors function to drive cellular identity
Defining fundamental principles of chromatin structure and dynamics
Translating fundamental chromatin and epigenomic principles within disease settings
Our lab is committed to uncovering fundamental biological mechanisms and applying these insights to understand the molecular basis of disease. We use an interdisciplinary approach—starting with cells and culminating in our own computational analyses—applying molecular biology, genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry to address outstanding questions in chromatin biology. We actively seek collaborations to expand the reach and impact of our research. I’m particularly excited by the foundation we’ve built, which positions us to pursue the questions outlined above, along with new avenues of discovery. Moving forward, we will continue to integrate cutting-edge technologies with established methodologies and collaborate with experts across diverse disease fields to advance our understanding of chromatin regulation and its broader impact.