Our lab studies how RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription is regulated in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and in human cells. We focus on how opposing kinases and phosphatases work with chromatin structure to control three key transitions: initiation to promoter escape, promoter-proximal pausing to elongation, and elongation to termination. We also investigate how these mechanisms influence processes that occur during transcription, including splicing, alternative polyadenylation (APA), and antisense transcription. To address these questions, we combine biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, classical genetics, genomics, and proteomics with chemical genetics, which uses engineered kinases that respond selectively to ATP analogs.
