Brian R. Calvi Professor

The research in my laboratory focuses on defining the molecular mechanisms that regulate DNA replication and cell cycle checkpoints during development.

We have also worked with human cells in culture, both in my lab and as collaborations, to determine whether the mechanisms we have defined in flies are operative in humans.

Specific subtopics:

• Variant polyploid cell cycles in development and cancer
• Cell cycle regulation of DNA replication and genome stability
• Cell cycle and chromatin regulation of apoptosis.

My laboratory primarily uses Drosophila as a model to investigate the cell cycle control of genome duplication and stability, with a focus on cancer mechanism. Two current major lines of research in my lab investigate how epigenetic modification of chromatin influences DNA replication, and how the apoptotic DNA damage checkpoint is linked to modified cell cycles during development. I am a basic research scientist who has had a long-standing research interest in genome stability and cancer mechanism. My research is currently funded by the NIH and the Walther Cancer Foundation.

The research in the Calvi lab focuses on defining the mechanisms of normal cell division, cell cycle checkpoints, and DNA replication.

Research:

• Variant polyploid cell cycles in development and cancer
• Checkpoint responses to DNA damage
• Cell cycle regulation of DNA replication and genome stability
• Defining the function of humpty dumpty, a gene required for DNA replication and normal development in flies and humans.

Research Areas

Chromatin, Chromosomes, and Genome Integrity
Developmental Mechanisms and Regulation in Eukaryotic Systems
Eukaryotic Cell Biology, Cytoskeleton, and Signaling

Research Interests:

• cell cycle control of DNA replication and genome stability

Subject Area:

• Biology.