New CBR member Chhabi Govind Studies Gene Expression

After only one year at Oakland University, Assistant Professor and new CBR member Chhabi Govind (Department of Biological Sciences) is already making an impact in biomedical research. Govind came to OU following a six-year stay at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. His lab at OU is studying the molecular mechanisms regulating gene expression, one of life’s most fundamental processes.

In the July 30 issue of the journal Molecular Cell, Govind and his collaborators published a paper titled “Phosphorylated Pol II CTD Recruits Multiple HDACs, Including Rpd3C(S), for Methylation-Dependent Deacetylation of ORF Nucleosomes” (volume 39, pages 234-246). Their research uses powerful yeast genetics and biochemistry to understand the mechanisms involved in modifying chromatin (the combination of DNA and proteins that makes up chromosomes). His lab is currently investigating how histone acetylation (chemical modification of histone proteins, which are a key component of nucleosomes) modulate chromatin plasticity during RNA polymerase II (Pol II) elongation.