Faculty

Kathiresan Selvam

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

CONTACT

Office: ISA 6213
Lab: ISA 6058
Phone: 813-396-0654
Email

EDUCATION

  • Bachelor of Veterinary Science B.V.Sc (DVM), RIVER, Pondicherry University, India
  • M.V.Sc. Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India
  • Ph.D.  Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University
  • Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Microbiologists

RESEARCH

DNA repair mechanisms, such as nucleotide excision repair (NER), play a vital role in maintaining genomic stability and preventing cancer. NER is responsible for addressing bulky or helix-distorting DNA lesions, such as ultraviolet (UV)-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and 6-4 photoproducts (6-4 PPs). Defects in NER are linked to various skin cancers including cutaneous melanoma and specific diseases such as Cockayne syndrome (CS), where patients show symptoms of rapid aging, neurodegeneration, and developmental defects. Understanding the fundamental processes of UV-induced DNA damage and its repair is critical for combating these conditions.

NER comprises two main subpathways: Global genomic NER (GG-NER) for repairing DNA lesions across the entire genome and transcription coupled NER (TC-NER) for repairing DNA lesions specifically in the transcribed strand (TS) of actively transcribed genes.

My lab’s research employs a multidisciplinary approach, combining yeast genetics, biochemistry, and state-of-the-art sequencing methodologies such as CPD-seq. We are also expanding our research into human homologs to determine the functions of these proteins into mammalian DNA repair.

Our lab focuses on three key objectives to advance our understanding of NER:

  1. Characterizing Novel Repair Proteins: Exploring the roles of recently discovered proteins in NER process.
  2. Studying TC-NER Regulation: Examining the interactions between TC-NER facilitators, repressors, and RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) in the regulation of TC-NER.
  3. Investigating epigenetic regulation of NER: Analyzing the role of histone modifications and chromatin remodelers in NER, including recent findings related to cryptic TC-NER.