Christopher Fischer

My general research interests include the kinetics and thermodynamics of protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, and the development and implementation of new biophysical methodologies and techniques for the study of these phenomena. The specific research focus of my group is the investigation of the mechanisms of DNA translocation and nucleosome mobilization by chromatin remodeling enzymes. The goal of this work is to determine the molecular details of DNA structure regulation and thereby understand why mutations in human proteins responsible for this regulation result in the development of genetic instability and disease. We employ both fluorescence stopped-flow and chemical quench-flow techniques for our kinetic assays, and a variety of home-grown computational tools for data analysis.