The goal of the Common Fund’s 4D Nucleome (4DN) program is to study the three-dimensional organization of the nucleus in space and time (the 4th dimension). The nucleus of a cell contains DNA, the genetic “blueprint” that encodes all of the genes a living organism uses to produce proteins needed to carry out life-sustaining cellular functions. Scientists know that how the information in the nucleus organized, stored, and unpackaged are all important to basic human health and we are only starting to learn how changes in this organization can lead to the development of different diseases, such as cancer or our response to infectious agents like viruses.

Under one five-year grant, for a total of $3.1 million, Phillips-Cremins , Vahedi, Joyce, Jain, and Lakadamyali will apply their tools of 3D genome architecture mapping and re-engineering to better understand a rare and often fatal inherited disorder called Friedrich’s Ataxia.

2020