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Chromatin is the physiologic form of the genome. Rather than mere packaging, chromatin structure appears to serve as the master regulator of underlying DNA function. Local chromatin structure may be stable for decades, yet is sufficiently dynamic to respond to signaling pathways, potentiating transcriptional program changes in development. Indeed, cellular identity and changes thereof are intimately connected to chromatin states-- keeping a neuron a neuron and not a liver cell.

What are the molecular factors that control chromatin structure?

The unifying theme of our lab is the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying genome management using the toolkits of biochemistry, chemical and structural biology; in particular, we are interested in how posttranslational modifications and noncoding RNA can control chromatin structure. Our research spans several traditional disciplines, ranging from discovery biochemistry and chemical biology to mechanistic characterization with biophysical methods coupled with X-Ray structure to address fundamental questions in chromatin biology. Projects ideally will transition from discovery biology to detailed molecular and structural investigation.

Announcements

11/24 | CONGRATULATIONS TO PRITHI FOR RECEIVING THE QUAD UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE 2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR!

11/24 | CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL ON RECEIVING THE LAB'S FIRST FUNDED NIH F31 PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP!

11/24 | PRITHI AND SUNNY PRESENT THEIR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AT THE MIDSTATES CONSORTIUM IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND PSYCHOLOGY!

10/24 | ALEX, AMOL, AND GABI REPRESENT THE RUTHENLAB AT THE ANNUAL SIMPSON QUERREY INSTITUTE FOR EPIGENETICS SYMPOSIUM AT NORTHWESTERN!

10/24 | CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL FOR RECEIVING THE BEST POSTER PRESENTATION AWARD AT THE ANNUAL MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES RETREAT IN ST. CHARLES, IL!

10/24 | MICHAEL AND ROB REPRESENT THE RUTHENLAB WITH POSTER AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS RESPECTIVELY AT THE ANNUAL MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES RETREAT IN ST. CHARLES, IL!

10/24 | JIMMY, JANE, AMANDA, AND ALEX DESCRIBE PREVIOUSLY UNCHARACTERIZED NUCLEIC ACID BINDING PROPERTIES OF YY1 IN A NEW BIORXIV PREPRINT!

09/24 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ALEX FOR RECEIVING THE 2024 CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION (CRF) FLETCHER SCHOLARS AWARD!

04/24 | YICHEN DEFENDS HER THESIS! CONGRATULATIONS!

04/24 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR AWESOME UNDERGRADUATES FOR RECEIVING MYRIAD SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS!

03/24 | GONEN PRESENTS HER WORK AT THE TAGC GENETICS SOCIETY OF AMERICA CONFERENCE IN D.C.!

03/24 | GONEN PRESENTS HER WORK AT THE WINTER CHICAGO RNA CLUB MEETING HOSTED AT UCHICAGO!

02/24 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ROHAN FOR MATCHING AT JOHNS HOPKINS FOR HIS OPHTHAMOLOGY RESIDENCY PROGRAM!

01/24 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ROB FOR RECEIVING THE INAUGURAL NOLAN GRADUATE RESEARCH FUND FELLOWSHIP!

12/23 | GABI REPS THE RUTHENLAB UP IN CALGARY AND PRESENTS A POSTER AT THE RNA MODIFICATIONS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE KEYSTONE CONFERENCE

11/23 | ALEX AND ROB REPRESENT THE RUTHENLAB AND PRESENT THEIR WORK AT EPICYPHER'S BIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL FRONTIERS IN EPIGENETICS CONFERENCE IN CANCUN, MEXICO!

10/23 | AMOL AND GABI DEVELOP A NOVEL PIPELINE IN TRANSCRIPT ASSEMBLY VIA THE MERGING OF SHORT AND LONG READ SEQUENCING! SEE HOW IN THEIR PLOS COMP PAPER!

08/23 | JELENA PRESENTS HER POSTER AT THE MECHANISMS OF EUKARYOTIC TRANSCRIPTION CONFERENCE HOSTED BY THE COLD SPRING HARBOR!

06/22 | WELCOME CMB GRADUATE STUDENTS ALEC BUTTNER AND MICHAEL ZELKO TO RUTHENLAB!

06/22 | ROB AND AMANDA BECOME RUTHENLAB'S RESIDENT MASS SPEC GURUS UPON ATTENDING THE NORTH AMERICAN MASS SPECTROMETRY SUMMER SCHOOL SERIES IN MADISON!

05/22 | CONGRATULATIONS TO GONEN FOR RECEIVING THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO WOMEN'S BOARD GRANTS FUND!

05/22 | JIMMY AND AMANDA PRESENT POSTERS AT THE COLD SPRING HARBOR GENOME ORGANIZATION AND NUCLEAR FUNCTION CONFERENCE!

04/22 | CONGRATULATIONS TO PADDY AND JANE FOR RECEIVING THE BSCD CHROMATIN AND EPIGENETICS UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!

04/22 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ROHAN ON DEFENDING HIS THESIS AND SHIFTING GEARS BACK TO MEDICAL SCHOOL!

03/22 | CONGRATULATIONS TO JELENA ON RECEIVING THE NANCY MOLLIN MICHAEL ENDOWMENT!

12/21 | CONRATULATIONS TO GONEN ON RECEIVING THE RUTH L. KIRSCHSTEIN POSTDOCTORAL INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD!

09/21 | WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH BIVALENCY? ROHAN, ADRIAN, JIMMY, ZHONGLEI, AND ALEX HAVE THOUGHTS IN A NEW BIORXIV PREPRINT!

07/21 | BILL, ROHAN, AND ALEX PUBLISH THEIR PAPER ON H3K79ME2 IN SURVIVAL OF MLL-REARRANGED LEUKEMIAS IN ELIFE!

04/21 | NEW PAPER! ROHAN AND ALEX DEVELOP A METHOD TO USE AMBIGUOUSLY MAPPED READS AND SEQUENCE DEEPER WITHOUT SEQUENCING MORE IN PLOS COMPUT BIOL!

04/21 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ROB ON RECEIVING HONORABLE MENTION FOR THE NSF GRFP!

02/21 | CONGRATULATIONS TO GONEN ON RECEIVING THE ROSBASH ABOVICH AWARD!

12/20 | CONGRATULATIONS TO BILL ON DEFENDING HIS THESIS!

11/20 | GONEN RECEIVES THE GENETICS SOCIETY OF AMERICA PRESIDENTIAL MEMBER AWARD! CONGRATULATIONS!

05/20 | WELCOME TO GRADUATE STUDENTS JELENA SCEPANOVIC (HG), GABI HADDAD (GGSB), AND ROB RODRIGUEZ (CMB)!

04/20 | ROHAN RECEIVES THE TING-WA WONG MD, PHD SCHOLARSHIP AND JOINS THE MD/PHD PROGRAM!

04/20 | CONGRATULATIONS TO AMANDA ON BEING AWARDED THE NSF GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP!

02/20 | COLLABORTIVE EFFORTS BETWEEN THE RUTHENLAB AND THE MOSKOWITZ GROUP LEAD TO THE CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW lncRNAs PUBLISHED IN PLOS COMPUT BIOL!

12/19 | WELCOME GONEN MEMISOGLU, NEW POSTDOC FROM THE HABER LAB AT BRANDEIS!

11/19 | NEW ICECHIP PAPER FROM ADRIAN, ROHAN, BILL, AND ALEX PUBLISHED IN NATURE PROTOCOLS

11/19 | WELCOME AMOLDEEP KAINTH, NEW POSTDOC FROM DAVID GROSS'S LAB!

06/19 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ALEX ON GETTING TENURE!

05/19 | WELCOME AMANDA KEPLINGER, GRADUATE STUDENT IN CMB!

03/19 | ROHAN AND BILL BOTH PRESENT AT THE KEYSTONE MEETING IN BANFF

09/18 | ANTIBODY TRUST FALL FAILS IN ROHAN, ADRIAN, AND ALEX'S NEW MOLECULAR CELL PAPER!

07/18 | WELCOME JIMMY ELIAS, GRADUATE STUDENT IN CMB!

12/17 | ADRIAN DEFENDS HIS THESIS! CONGRATULATIONS!

11/17 | ZHONGLEI AND ALEX PUBLISH MANUSCRIPT IN BIOCHEMISTRY ON THE STRUCTURE OF HISTONE METHYLLYSINE ANALOGUES

08/17 | WELCOME LINDSAY STOLZENBURG, NEW POSTDOC FROM THE HARRIS LAB AT NORTHWESTERN

06/17 | NEW NSMB PAPER BY MIKE, MATTHEW, ROHAN, ADRIAN, AND ALEX! WE NOW KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ROLE OF cheRNAs!

05/16 | CONGRATULATIONS TO KATE ON DEFENDING HER THESIS!

03/16 | CONGRATULATIONS TO MIKE ON DEFENDING HIS THESIS!

08/15 | A STRANGE THING HAPPENED WHEN MIKE STARTED FRACTIONATING THE NUCLEAR lncRNA POOL... MIKE'S CELL REPORTS PAPER

06/15 | CONGRATULATIONS TO ROHAN SHAH, RECIPIENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES COLLEGIATE DIVISION SUMMER FELLOWSHIP, AND WELCOME TO THE LAB

05/15 | NEW PAPER! WILL ADRIAN, ZHONGLEI & ALEX’S ICeChIP MOLECULAR CELL MANUSCRIPT REVOLUTIONIZE ChIP?

03/15 | KATE GIVES A TALK AT THE "TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES ON STEM CELL STATES" KEYSTONE MEETING IN COLORADO

01/15 | WELCOME NEW POSTDOC, PALAVI THAPLYAL, FROM PHIL BEVILAQUA’S LAB

08/14 | CHECK OUT ZHONGLEI, ADRIAN & ALEX’S CHEMBIOCHEM PAPER—WE NOW HAVE HISTONES REPRESENTING MOST OF THE INTERESTING H3 METHYLATION MARKS

06/14 | ZHONGLEI DEFENDS HIS THESIS AND MOVES ON TO HIS POSTDOC