Roland Kanaar Group
Molecular radiation biology
Our Focus
Our goal is to define and dissect the molecular circuits of DNA damage repair and their integration in cellular processes. This knowledge is pivotal for identifying molecular targets for designing novel mechanism-based interventions and manipulations of these processes.
We address fundamental mechanistic aspects of the DNA damage response with special attention to DNA repair by homologous recombination, involving BRCA2, RAD51, MRN, and RPA. We study molecular mechanisms by applying and developing (single molecule) biochemical analyses, proteomics, and molecular imaging techniques to identify dynamic molecular interactions that are responsible for the assembly and disassembly of the molecular factories that guard and repair the genome. At the cellular level the DNA damage repair processes in (live) cells are monitored for how they detect DNA damage and proceed to assemble and disassemble the repair machinery using super-resolution techniques to understand the interplay between different DNA damage response pathways and their integration in the physiology of the cell.
