The genome is spatially organized within the nucleus. The localization of genes reflects and impacts their expression.
The Brickner lab studies the molecular mechanisms that control gene positioning in yeast and human cells. Current work in the lab is focused on three areas: 1) defining the molecular mechanisms by which transcription factors target genes to different subnuclear environments, 2) how gene positioning is integrated with interchromosomal clustering to influence the spatial organization of the genome as a whole and 3) exploring the molecular impact of gene positioning on chromatin structure, transcription and epigenetic regulation.