Dr. Cornelis Murre

Biography

Kees Murre performed graduate work at Harvard Medical School and was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. He is a Searle Scholar recipient and has received the National Institutes of Health Merit Award. His research has a long-standing interest in deciphering the regulatory roles of helix-loop-helix proteins in lymphocyte development, particularly focusing on factors that play key roles in hematopoiesis. Currently, he investigates the roles of these factors in controlling hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis, as well as the specification and commitment of B- and T-lineages, aging, and the inflammatory disease roles in response to invading pathogens. His recent genome-wide studies have identified a large fraction of the genome transcribed within non-coding regions, leading to questions about the relationship between large non-coding RNAs and gene expression regulation. His goal is to determine the function of these non-coding RNAs, especially their potential roles in modulating long-range chromatin structure and genomic interactions. He has found that in eukaryotic cells, coding regulatory genomic elements interact dynamically until specific genomic interactions are established, with topological domains controlling such encounters. Future studies will examine the epigenetic and structural determinants that affect chromatin trajectories in living cells and their relationships with enhancers and promoters.

Research Interests