Peter Lewis
Credentials: Biomolecular Chemistry Department
Position title: Chromatin regulation in development and disease
Email: peter.lewis@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 263-6599
Address:
440 Henry Mall, Room 6260
Madison, WI 53706
LAB WEBSITE:
FOCUS GROUPS:
Transcriptional Mechanisms; Cancer Biology
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
My research program aims to understand the mechanisms that underlie silent chromatin (heterochromatin) in animal cells. Heterochromatin is critical for regulating gene expression, maintaining genome integrity, and ensuring proper cellular differentiation. We focus on two biochemically and functionally distinct types of heterochromatin: constitutive, which silences repetitive regions like telomeres and transposable elements, and facultative, which dynamically regulates genes involved in cell type specification and cell cycle regulation. We primarily focus on addressing fundamental mechanisms of establishment and maintenance of heterochromatin, while also exploring how misregulation can promote specific human cancers. Our projects have a dual focus, combining both fundamental research and disease-related inquiries. By integrating these aspects, our objective is a comprehensive understanding of heterochromatin biology and its implications in disease. We use a variety of experimental approaches, including highly purified biochemical assays, proteomic and genomic analysis, and forward genetic screens in mammalian cell lines.
ALSO A TRAINER IN THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS: Biochemistry (IPiB), Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (MCP), Cancer Biology, Cellular and Molecular Pathology (CMP), Molecular and Environmental Toxicology (MET), Biotechnology Training Program (BTP)