Research Overview

Dana Branzei, investigates how cells are able to repair and tolerate DNA damage and how the various DNA repair mechanisms are coupled with each other and with other cellular processes. With her studies on the inner workings of error-free DNA damage tolerance, she achieved a breakthrough: she was able to demonstrate that DNA repair mechanisms are integrated into the recognition of DNA damage and into the reactions of chromatin assembly.
These processes take place within the replisome, the biochemical machinery responsible for the duplication of the genome. Dana Branzei has focused on the complex question of how simultaneous processes occur in cells that link genome duplication with DNA repair and chromosome assembly. Her research findings make a fundamental contribution to the understanding of genes that mediate a predisposition to the development of cancer. In addition, their findings support research into the causes of genome changes that are often triggered by chemotherapy.

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