Funding – Kierra Franklin Awarded 2024 Finzi Fellowship to Engineer Chromatin for Lupus Research
Congratulations to Kierra Franklin (PhD student, Haynes lab) for receiving a 2024 Gina M. Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Award from the Lupus Foundation of America! Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by an overactive immune system that attacks the body’s own cells and tissues, and predominantly affects women. Kierra’s project “Determining the Impact of MeCP2/DNMT1 Imbalance in Epigenetic Dysregulation” is inspired by the recent discovery that the central chromatin proteins implicated in SLE are not mutated, but are instead present at abnormal concentrations in immune cells, which might result in the dysregulated DNA methylation that is found in the T cells of those with SLE. It is very hard to use traditional methods to investigate the mechanism of this imbalance. Therefore Kierra will use cell engineering to tune levels of chromatin protein expression in normal cells to determine conditions that disrupt DNA methylation.
Related:
- Lupus Foundation of America. Summer 2024 Gina M. Finzi Fellows.
Haynes Lab research at the EBRC Annual Meeting
Haynes lab members presented our latest research at the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) 2024 Annual Meeting at Georgia Tech May 16-17, 2024. PhD students Kierra Franklin, Seong Hu Kim, Ashley Townsel, and undergraduate student Greg Wu presented research posters. The EBRC Annual Meeting is an opportunity for participants to gather, share scientific advancements, strengthen the community, and collaborate on advancing engineering biology to address national and global needs. The meeting is open to all EBRC members, their lab members, and employees of institutional members. Additionally, those at Georgia Tech with an interest in engineering biology were invited to join the event.
Poster: “Engineering a Chromatin Protein to Decode Similar Histone Signals: H3K27me3 vs. H3K9me3.” Kierra A. Franklin*, J. Harrison Priode, Paige Steppe, and Karmella A. Haynes
Poster: “Investigating Topologically Associating Domains Targeted by a Synthetic Reader-Actuator in H3K27me3-Enriched Chromatin.” Seong Hu Kim*, Isioma Enwerem-Lackland, Natecia L. Williams, Christopher Plaisier, Karmella A. Haynes
Poster: “Adipocyte Signaling Induces Widespread Epigenetic Repression in BT549 TNBC Cells. Ashley Townsel*, Yifei Wu*, Maya Jaffe, Cara Shields , Karmella A. Haynes
Haynes Lab research at the Northwestern U Physical Genomics Symposium
Haynes lab members presented our latest research at the Symposium on Physical Genomics at Northwestern University on April 26, 2024. PhD student Seong Hu Kim presented a research poster and Dr. Haynes presented an invited talk. The mission of the Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering is to pioneer innovative strategies for disease treatment and reversible manipulation of physical systems, with a strong focus on advancing the emerging field of physical genomics and chromatin research.
Poster: Seong Hu Kim, Isioma Enwerem-Lackland, Natecia L. Williams, Christopher Plaisier, and Karmella A. Haynes. “Investigating Topologically Associating Domains Targeted by a Synthetic Reader-Actuator in H3K27me3-Enriched Chromatin.”
Talk: Karmella Haynes, “Investigating Gene Activation Dynamics Within Human Polycomb Chromatin with Synthetic Reader-Effectors” (recording available here)
Invited Talk – Washington University, St. Louis
Dr. Haynes presented a keynote talk, “The Pursuit of a Career as an Investigator of Molecular Biology, from Hazelwood MO to the Professoriate,” for the INSPIRE Conference (Interdisciplinary Conference for Networking, supporting, and Promoting Inclusive Research Endeavors) on April 25, 2024 at the Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, MO. Special thanks to Ananda Rankin and the Association of Black Biomedical Graduate Students for the invitation and for organizing this fantastic event!
Funding – Chromatin, Metabolism, and Radiation Resistance in Breast Cancer
Dr. Karmella Haynes is leading a new 1-year research collaboration aimed at deepening our understanding of breast cancer treatment resistance, with a specific focus on radiation resistance. Breast cancer tumors contains groups of cells that can behave differently, termed “cellular heterogeneity,” with some being resistant to radiation therapy. Epigenetic states are known to produce differences between cells that share the same DNA. Epigenetic states are influenced by cellular metabolism and chromatin reorganization, which play pivotal roles in cancer progression. However, the combined impact of metabolism and gene regulation on radiation resistance remains poorly understood. By leveraging advanced techniques such as metabolomics, single-cell expression profiling, and cell engineering, we aim to uncover the mechanisms governing these interactions. This collaboration, led by Dr. Karmella Haynes (Emory) and Dr. Melissa Kemp (GA Tech) promises not only to expand our understanding of cancer biology but also to identify potential new drug targets and treatment strategies. Developmental funds from the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University were awarded through Winship Invest$, a peer-reviewed program that provides pilot funding for novel, innovative cancer research projects.
Invited Talk – HudsonAlpha
Dr. Haynes presented an invited talk, “Combining ‘omics with synthetic biology to investigate epigenetic control in human cells,” for the HudsonAlpha Research Seminar series on March 20, 2024 at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, AL. Special thanks to Bri Rogers, Aida El Kholi Starling, Rick Myers, and all of the scientists and trainees who took the time to meet at this beautiful and inspiring facility for cutting edge genomics research!
Invited Talk – Winter q-Bio 2024
Dr. Haynes presented an invited talk, “Exploring Signal Processing Within Chromatin with Protein Engineering,” at the11th annual Winter Quantitative Biology Conference (q-Bio) that took place February 19 – 23, 2024 in Oahu, Hawaii. q-Bio brings together scientists and engineers who are interested in all areas of quantitative biology. Special thanks to Professor Wendell Lim and the organizing committee for the invitation, and congratulations on assembling an exceptionally inclusive line-up of invited speakers, with over half being women scientists.
Invited Talk – GA Tech Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Dr. Haynes presented an invited talk, “Exploring Signal Processing Within Chromatin with Protein Engineering,” for the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Seminar Series on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Special thanks to Professor Corey Wilson and Hanna Hawthorne for your invitation and assistance!
Ph.D. Graduate Student Researchers
Interested in completing your Ph.D. thesis work with us? The Haynes lab at Emory carries out work that provides opportunities for Ph.D. students to pursue a thesis in biomedical applications of epigenetic engineering. When there is space, we consider students from the GA Tech/ Emory Biomedical Engineering program, and the Emory GDBBS Genetics and Molecular Biology and Cancer Biology programs.
Invited Talk – BMES CMBE
Dr. Haynes presented an invited talk, “Exploring the Chromatin-Phenotype Connection in Breast Cancer by Engineering Epigenetic Signaling in Chromatin,” for the 2024 BMES Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Conference “Systems Bioengineering: From Molecules to Cells to Tissues” in Carolina, Puerto Rico on Thursday, January 4, 2024.
Haynes Lab | Emory 