Chromosomal DNA Repair, Telomere Stability and Cell Aging. Research in the laboratory is applying modern techniques of molecular biology and biochemistry to identify and characterize genes involved in repair of broken chromosomes and in regulation of chromosome stability.  Several genes identified in this work have been found to affect other aspects of DNA metabolism, including cell cycle checkpoint responses and telomere stability. Furthermore, a subset of genes under study encode proteins similar to human proteins previously implicated in a number of human diseases including cancer. Understanding these processes and the multiple pathways involved in DNA repair and telomere maintenance are major goals of current research in the lab.