Robert M. Brosh Jr., Ph.D.

Roles of DNA Helicases in Genomic Stability: Genetic mutations in a class of molecular motor proteins known as helicases are linked to a growing number of human disorders, indicating that these enzymes have vitally important roles during replication, DNA repair, recombination and transcription. My research team believes that defining the biochemical and cellular functions of helicases will help us understand molecular defects associated with chromosomal variability. The focus of our group is genetic diseases frequently associated with premature aging, cancer, and/or mitochondrial dysfunction arising from mutations in genes encoding DNA helicases that operate uniquely in pathways of DNA repair and the replication stress response. A special topic of interest is the application of small molecules to modulate helicase activity as a tool to assign specific helicase functions in vivo and potential development of therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Robert Brosh received his B.S. in chemistry from Bethany College in 1985, M.S. in biochemistry from Texas A & M University in 1988, and Ph.D. in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996. He did postdoctoral work at NIH before assuming his present position as a Principal Investigator in the Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, NIA in 2000. Dr. Brosh's group is engaged in biomedical studies of DNA repair diseases. His research program also investigates the emerging importance of helicases in other facets of biology including cellular metabolism and inflammation.