John C. Zinder, PhD

Dr. Zinder [Lorraine W. Egan Fellow] studies telomeres that cap the ends of chromosomes and the role they play in cancer development. Telomeres normally shorten every time a cell divides until they become so short that cell division stops. Dr. Zinder is focusing on shelterin, a multiprotein complex that binds to telomeres to protect them from being mistaken as damaged DNA. Mutations in the shelterin components are found in both cancer and premature aging diseases. By purifying this complex and visualizing it in atomic detail, he aims to gain fundamental insights into how telomeres are protected and how their length is controlled in normal cells and in cancer.