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NIH grant awarded to CMMB professor[10.12.2015]
TAMPA, Fla. – Younghoon Kee, Ph.D., a University of South Florida assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, has been awarded a $438,610 grant from the National Institutes of Health.
The grant will be used to fund Kee’s current research project entitled, “Function and Regulation of the Fanconi Anemia Pathway in DNA Repair,” which aims to understand the defectiveness of DNA repair in individuals with the genetically homogenous recessive disorder, Fanconi Anemia.
Due to a defect in a cluster of proteins responsible for DNA repair which results in the preservation of genome from genotoxic stresses, individuals with Fanconi Anemia are more susceptible to cancer, bone marrow failure and congenital anomalies. By studying the regulation and function of the Fanconi Anemia group D2 protein, the goal of the project is to better understand the molecular regulation of Fanconi Anemia. The study also may provide a strategy for identifying a subset of drug-resistant cancers that depend on DNA repair mechanisms for survival.
Kee’s research primarily focuses on the molecular mechanisms of maintaining genome integrity in human cells by studying functions of proteins involved in DNA damage response and DNA repair. He also teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences. Kee has been at USF for four years.
Filed under:Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Arts and Sciences Faculty Awards CreditsAuthor:Sarah Runey Contact: