Garegin A. Papoian MS, PhD

Garegin Papoian is the Monroe Martin Professor, with a joint appointment in Chemistry and Institute for Physical Science and Technology. His group is striving to understand complex biological phenomena based on fundamental physical and chemical principles. His current research interests include DNA packing in cells of higher organisms and cellular cytoskeleton and motility.

Papoian’s lab also aims to understand the way DNA is packaged in the nuclei of higher organisms. The total length of DNA in each eukaryotic cell can reach 2 m, however, it must be housed in a micrometre size cell. This staggering six orders of magnitude compaction is achieved by wrapping DNA around protein octamers called histones, to form nucleosomes. The latter in turn fold into a superstructure called the 30-nm fibre, which then further folds into higher order chromatin structures. The exact mechanisms of chromatin formation and dynamics are not fully understood, but misregulation of chromatin may result in human genetic diseases. Papoian’s lab develops physico-chemical computational models to study the chromatin folding and dynamics.