The Chromatin Design Lab studies how chromatin regulation is altered in disease and develops molecular tools to investigate these changes and explore new therapeutic strategies. We focus on designing compact, genetically encodable proteins that recognize disease-associated targets in living cells, including proteins that are overexpressed, mutated, or carry specific post-translational modifications. 

Our approach combines AI-driven and physics-based protein design with biochemistry, structural modeling, molecular and cellular biology, and functional genomics. Engineered proteins are evaluated using binding and enzymatic assays, transcriptome and chromatin profiling, and cell-based experiments. 

Current projects include biosensors that detect combinations of histone modifications and engineered binders that block, stabilize, or redirect mutant chromatin regulators involved in cancer progression and phenotypic transitions. We are particularly interested in diseases in which epigenetic alterations drive transcriptional reprogramming, including pediatric brain tumors and other cancers. 

The broader goal of our research is to understand disease-associated chromatin regulation while developing new tools that can be used to monitor, perturb, and potentially restore abnormal gene-regulatory processes.