Chantal Autexier
BSc (Concordia), PhD (平特五不中)
Mechanism and regulation of telomerase and telomere function in mammals.
The maintenance and replication of functional chromosome ends, or telomeres, is essential for genome integrity and cell survival. Cells have evolved mechanisms to regulate and monitor telomere length and integrity and coordinate these processes with DNA replication, damage response, repair and recombination. Using cell culture models, we study how telomere maintenance and synthesis contribute to cell immortalization and cancer, and how defects in telomere maintenance contribute to various premature aging genetic disorders such as dyskeratosis congenita.
Keywords: telomere, telomerase, cancer, aging, genome integrity, DNA damage, DNA replication, recombination, ribonucleoprotein assembly, post-translational modifications.