• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main content
Choose which site to search.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College of Medicine: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • UAMS Health
  • Jobs
  • Giving
  • About Us
    • News
  • Faculty/Staff
    • Primary Faculty
    • Secondary Faculty
    • Adjunct Faculty
    • Professor Emeritus
    • Track Members
    • Research and Administrative Staff
  • Research Areas
    • Cancer Biology
    • Experimental Therapeutics
    • Systems Biology and Bioinformatics
      • Systems Biology News
    • Structural Biology and Enzymology
    • Nutrition and Metabolism
    • Chromatin Biology, Nucleic Acid Chemistry, and Genetics
    • Neurobiology and Neurobiochemistry
  • Students
    • Graduate Program
    • Integrative Biomedical and Data Science
    • Elective Courses
    • Student Highlight
    • Alumni
      • Graduates
      • Where Are They Now?
    • Grant Opportunities
    • Career Information
    • Resources for Current Students
    • Resilience
    • About the Area
  • Seminars
    • Faculty Seminars
    • Student Seminars
    • Webinars and Conferences
  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Summer Research
      • Program Details
      • Application Materials
      • Research Opportunities
      • Information for Participants
      • Prior Participants
      • SURF Related Publications
      • Contact Information
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Central Arkansas Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium
      • Details
      • Registration
      • Directions and Parking
      • Top Presentations
      • Contact
  • Research Resources

Joonas Jamsen, Ph.D.

Joonas Jamsen, Ph.D.

Assistant ProfessorJoonas Jamsen, PhD

Member Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

Ph.D., University of Turku, Finland
M.S., University of Turku, Finland
B.S., University of Turku, Finland

Email: JAJamsen@uams.edu
Office: 501-526-6000 – Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Rm. 9024

DNA double strand break repair mechanisms

Environmental exposure (e.g., radiation, pollution, chemicals, toxins), many physiological processes and therapeutics result in chromosomal single and double strand breaks that must be repaired to maintain genome integrity. Double strand breaks can be repaired rapidly and accurately but are often modified and/or damaged and this can promote erroneous repair outcomes. The resulting diversity in repair products is crucial for many physiological processes but also forms the basis for mutagenesis and chromosomal aberrations that can ultimately lead to tumorigenesis and disease. The underlying molecular strategies that direct correct and error-prone break repair are unknown. A thorough understanding of these strategies is needed to address the wide range of cancers and pathologies induced by the lack of, or malfunctions in, these crucial DNA repair mechanisms. The Jamsen laboratory is focused on uncovering double strand break repair mechanisms. We employ structural biology as a central tool to generate atomic level hypotheses about biological reactions that can be challenged using mechanistic approaches. Using this framework, our overarching goal is to understand how the fundamental mechanisms of repair enzymes function within the molecular architecture of the repair complex to determine repair outcomes in double strand break repair. We employ an integrated approach consisting of cutting-edge structural biology (time-resolved crystallography and Cryo-EM), biochemistry, chemical biology, and molecular biology to reveal fundamental molecular DNA repair strategies and their impact on repair outcomes. This understanding will inform development of mechanism-based therapeutic approaches to modulate DNA repair in cancer and disease.

 

My Bibliography

UAMS College of Medicine LogoUAMS College of MedicineUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

© 2023 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences