Grant: Foundation Grant

Any mistake in the repair or transmission of our genetic material is sufficient to generate genome instability, one of the most potent stimulator of cancer development. The overall objective of this proposal is to understand how living organisms promote effective maintenance and repair of their chromosomal DNA during cell division. To achieve this objective, we focus our work on a family of proteins known as the Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) proteins. Our interest in this family of proteins comes from the fact that they are known as central gatekeepers of genome stability, and mutations affecting these proteins are associated with tumorigenesis and other severe developmental disorders in humans. The main aim of our work is to uncover how the SMC proteins recognizes normal and damaged DNA during cell division. Then, we aim to reveal how cells regulate the behavior of the SMC proteins when they suffer DNA damage. Ultimately, our work will have a major positive impact on human health by revealing new cellular mechanisms critical for cancer development and by identifying new genetic vulnerabilities that could be used for cancer treatment.