OVERVIEW OF OUR RESEARCH

The Smaldino laboratory is broadly interested in G-quadruplex nucleic acid structures and the cellular enzymes that unwind them. G-quadruplexes are stable, ‘knot-like’ structures that form within guanine (G)-rich regions of DNA or RNA. These structures provide an essential layer of transcriptional and translational regulation in a healthy cell. However, when in excess or aberrantly unwound, G-quadruplexes can become pathological. We focus our efforts on studying the major human G-quadruplex helicase G4R1 (aliases: DHX36 and RHAU. We apply our expertise in G-quadruplex and G4R1 biology to study normal neuronal development and G-quadruplex-linked diseases including, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), dementia, and cancer. We leverage a combinatorial approach of biochemical assays, human cell culture models, and mouse models to study these topics.