Dr. Brian Dynlacht

Biography

Brian D. Dynlacht is a Professor at the Perlmutter Cancer Center and focuses on understanding mechanisms underlying the progression of the mammalian cell cycle. His research program utilizes various complementary approaches, concentrating on transcriptional mechanisms that link gene expression with cell cycle progression. He has primarily centered his studies on the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRB) and its related proteins, p107 and p130. The pRB protein is a prototypical tumor suppressor known to be mutated in human tumors. The relatives of pRB play roles in restraining cell growth by inhibiting the activity of the cellular transcription factor E2F, which controls the expression of key components of the cell cycle and DNA replication machinery. His research employs a combination of biochemistry, cell biology, and mutant cell line techniques to understand critical gene targets regulated by E2F and pRB. He also integrates chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and genomic approaches using DNA microarray analysis to explore gene regulatory networks controlled during cell cycle differentiation in living mammalian cells.

Research Interests