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Pediatrics Department
Aab Institute
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Michael Bulger
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, and the
Center for Pediatric Biomedical Research
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Education:
B.S., Molecular and Cell Biology; Pennsylvania State University, 1990 Ph.D., Biology; University of California, San Diego, 1996
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Contact Information:
E-mail: Michael Bulger
Tel: 585-273-1342 (office); 585-273-1343 (lab)
Fax: 585-276-0232
Location:
MRBX Building
Rm. 1.11108 (office); Rm. 1.11001 (lab)
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Summary of Research Interests:
I am interested in the interplay between tissue-specific gene expression and large-scale patterns of chromatin structure, as well as mechanisms by which enhancers and locus control regions (LCRs) mediate gene activation over large genomic distances. I address these questions using genes up-regulated or specifically expressed during late erythroid differentiation, including the b-globin genes, as models. Ongoing or planned projects in my lab include:
(1) Modeling the formation of active chromatin domains in different experimental systems, including stably integrated transgenes in cell culture and reconstituted minichromosomes in cell-free extracts, in order to determine the cis-acting sequences and DNA-binding protein factors involved in their establishment and maintenance;
(2) Characterizing non-genic transcription within the b-globin locus, as well as other loci, and investigating the relationship between such transcription and domain-wide gene regulation;
(3) Identifying factors that facilitate enhancer-promoter and/or LCR-promoter communication at the b-globin locus, in order to gain clues as to how such communication occurs;
(4) Identifying factors that bind to 3’HS1 of the b-globin locus, which is the most prominent site of attachment to nuclear matrix at this region, in order to investigate the relationship between nuclear architecture and gene expression;
(5) Investigating the role of serine protease inhibitors (serpins) in chromatin condensation and gene regulation in differentiating erythroid cells.
Recent Publications:
- Bulger, M., Schubeler, D., Bender, M.A., Hamilton, J., Farrell, C.M., Hardison, R.C., Groudine, M. A complex chromatin landscape revealed by patterns of nuclease sensitivity and histone modification within the mouse b-globin locus. Mol Cell Biol 23:5234-5244, 2003
- Bulger, M., Sawado, T., Schubeler, D., Groudine, M. ChIPs of the b-globin locus: unraveling gene regulation within an active domain. Curr Opin Genet Dev 12:170-177, 2002
- Bulger, M., Bender, M.A., van Doorninck, J.H., Wertman, B., Farrell, C.M., Felsenfeld, G., Groudine, M., and Hardison, R. Comparative structural and functional analysis of the olfactory receptor genes flanking the human and mouse beta-globin gene clusters. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:14560-14565, 2000
- Bulger, M. and Groudine, M. Looping vs. linking: toward a model for long-distance gene activation. Genes & Dev 13:2465-2477, 1999
- Bender, M.A., Bulger, M., Close, J. and Groudine, M. 2000. b-globin gene switching and DNase I sensitivity of the endogenous b-globin locus in mice do not require the locus control region. Mol Cell 5:387-393, 2000
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