Ruhee Dere Lab

The Dere lab specializes in kidney cancer and VHL (von Hippel Lindau) disease focused on understand fundamental aspects of how non-chromatin functions of chromatin modifiers contribute to oncogenesis. Studies are centered on the novel geo-spatial convergence of chromatin modifiers, often lost in renal cell carcinoma, outside their traditional habitat of chromatin in the nucleus. We are investigating the function of these epigenetic modifiers on microtubule and actin dynamics during mitosis and during quiescence, when cells project primary cilia. In particular, our investigations are based on understanding the cytoskeletal targets for enzymatic activity of chromatin modifiers, how these enzymes mechanistically differentiate between their nuclear and cytoskeletal targets, and the post-translational modifications (PTMs) both on the enzymes and substrates that regulate unique cellular functions. We seek to identify novel and unexplored signaling nodes/axis with therapeutic potential and clinical relevance.