Naama Barkai, PhD

Dr. Naama Barkai’s research at the Weizmann Institute of Science focuses on revealing general design principles that guide the function and evolution of biochemical circuits in normal and cancer cells. 

Histone chaperones play critical roles in DNA-related processes and genome integrity. Expression of one of these chaperones, FACT, increases in tumor cells, where it correlates with tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis. However, FACT regulation has been challenging to study with existing technologies.

Dr. Barkai’s laboratory has recently established a novel approach that overcomes the methodological barrier. With the support of an ICRF Project Grant, she proposes using this method to follow the consequences of FACT depletion and replenishment on the dynamic interactions of histones throughout the human genome. The results of this research may benefit future drug development efforts that target this oncogenic factor.

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