The Roeder lab will study the function of a key regulator of germinal center (GC) formation and antibody production, OCA-B, through its function in specific gene expression. Their results will advance the understanding of GC biology and could help the development of treatment strategies for infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases and lymphomas.
Gene expression is controlled primarily at the level of transcription, the process by which genes are copied into RNA before being translated into proteins. A central question in biology is how the transcription of the human genome’s approximately 20,000 genes is regulated in a gene- and cell type-specific manner. Roeder studies the transcription factors, including epigenetic factors, and underlying mechanisms involved in this regulation.
