Kabirul Islam, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
University of Pittsburgh

“An Orthogonal Chromatin Landscape with Engineered Protein and Small Molecules”

Chromatin is a DNA-protein complex that controls transcriptional potential of a gene and allows cells to access genetic information only when ‘needed’. Cells employ a range of mechanisms, most prominent being the chemical modifications of DNA and histone (e.g. methylation), to alter chromatin-templated processes. Since starting at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014, my group has built the foundation of a vibrant research program focused on understanding of biochemical machineries regulating chromatin structure, dynamics and functions. We employ a range of small molecules, peptides, proteins, nucleotides and their unnatural analogues towards functional elucidation of chromatin modifications in gene expression, nuclear reprogramming and human disease. Our interdisciplinary research spans synthetic organic chemistry, protein and oligonucleotide engineering, mechanistic biochemistry, cell and structural biology, quantitative proteomics and transcriptomics.

Reading Material:

1. Babu Sudhamalla, Sinan Wang, Kabirul Islam, et al. Complimentary Steric Engineering at the Protein – Ligand Interface for Analogue-Sensitive TET Oxygenases J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 10263−10269
2. Kabirul Islam Allele-Specific Chemical Genetics: Concept, Strategies, and Applications dx.doi.org/10.1021/cb500651d| ACS Chem. Biol. 2015, 10, 343−363

(Faculty host: James K. Chen)