Updating old models by studying the dynamics of RNA Pol II transcription: a QBI Hybrid Seminar with Stephen Buratowski

The QBI Seminar Series presents Stephen Buratowski, professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Stephen Buratowski received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1984. He did his PhD thesis work with Dr. Phillip A. Sharp at MIT (1990), then spent four years as an independent Whitehead Institute Fellow. In 1994, he joined the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. His research program seeks to understand mechanisms of eukaryotic gene expression by RNA polymerase II and its associated transcription factors, as well as how transcription is coupled to RNA processing and chromatin modifications. Recent studies focus on transcription dynamics using genomic, proteomic, and single molecule microscopy techniques. 

Recent work from the Buratowski Lab has revealed some surprising new insights into mechanisms of transcription activation, initiation complex assembly, CTD phosphorylation, and co-transcriptional histone methylation. Current models for gene expression are primarily based on biochemical and genomic assays that reflect steady-state, ensemble averages of many molecules. Using single-molecule microscopy and other time-sensitive methods, Buratowski’s lab offers some important updates and revisions to the textbook models.

Talk Title: Updating old models by studying the dynamics of RNA Pol II transcription

Host: Minkyu Kim