Anna K. Mapp
University of Michigan, MI·Chemistry
Every cell must decide which genes to switch on and when. That decision starts when proteins called transcriptional activators (TAs) bind DNA and recruit partner proteins called coactivators.
- Fields
Chemistry
Biochemistry
Pharmacology
- Topics
transcription
coactivators
gene regulation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2030
What they work on
- Define the molecular recognition rules and shape changes by which transcriptional activators bind coactivators, using chemical biology tools in vitro and in cells.
- Use previously developed discovery strategies to find synthetic inhibitors and enhancers of activator–coactivator protein–protein interactions and make them available to other researchers.
- Re-wire gene-control circuits that are dysregulated in cancer and intellectual disability with these synthetic modulators, defining druggable nodes for therapy development.
More about the research
Together they prepare the DNA and the enzyme RNA polymerase to begin reading a gene. The contacts between these proteins are brief and constantly changing shape, which makes them hard to study. When these protein–protein interactions (PPIs) go wrong, they are linked to many diseases, so they are attractive drug targets.
Why it matters
Faulty gene control plays a part in nearly every human disease, as a cause or an effect. Molecules that block or boost specific activator–coactivator contacts could serve as research probes and starting points for drugs. The project focuses on gene-control pathways involved in cancer and intellectual disability, where it aims to identify new targets for drug discovery.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Richard Ebright
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ·Biochemistry
Determine structures of intact, functional factor-dependent pre-termination complexes from E. coli and the archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis by cryo-electron microscopy, defining how the ATP-driven RNA motor Rho and the RNA-cutting enzyme aCPSF1 engage RNA polymerase.
Y. George Zheng
University of Georgia, GA·Biochemistry
Determine the molecular mechanisms and regulation of protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) activity, building on the lab's preliminary results.
Hamilton Hodges
Baylor College of Medicine, TX·Biochemistry
Determine how cellular signals influence which binding partners SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers (cBAF, PBAF, GBAF) select, using rapid perturbations in living cells with epigenomic and proteomic readouts.
The school
University of Michigan: 124 labs on PI Pages, $2.1B a year on research, 963 research doctorates a year.
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