Dr. Bernard Duncker

Biography

Professor Duncker's lab is using budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for cancer-related studies of the cell cycle, currently focusing on identifying and characterizing protein factors that control the initiation of DNA replication. S. cerevisiae has proven to be a useful organism for studies because the eukaryotic origins of replication are characterized, and the origin consensus sequence has been identified. These findings, combined with advanced knowledge of budding yeast genetics, have permitted the identification of numerous protein factors associated with replication origins, including members of the pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) that assembles at origins during the G1 phase of the cell cycle. The pre-RC is present until origins fire and is rapidly disassembled in the S phase. In addition to the pre-RC, the activity of protein kinase complexes Clb/Cdc28 and Dbf4/Cdc7 is required to trigger replication. Homologues of these proteins are found in a wide variety of organisms, including humans, demonstrating promise as diagnostic markers for cell proliferation and potential malignancies. Work in Professor Duncker's laboratory focuses on studying the mechanisms by which kinase complexes act at origins, characterizing novel origin-associated proteins, and determining the protein factors that regulate cell cycle checkpoints.

Research Interests

Awards