Karen Adelman

BIOGRAPHY

CURRENT POSITION:
Karen L Adelman, PhD, leads the Transcriptional Responses to the Environment Group within the Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis.

EDUCATION:
She earned her PhD in 1999 at Université de Paris VI, working at the Institut Pasteur. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of John Lis, PhD, at Cornell University before joining NIEHS in 2005.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
The Adelman laboratory investigates the dynamic interplay between signals from the environment and transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). The ability to rapidly integrate multiple extra- and intracellular cues to produce specific patterns of gene expression is essential for the growth, development, and survival of all organisms; however, the molecular mechanisms leading from these signals to the coordinated activation of gene networks are not well understood. The group uses genomic approaches in Drosophila and murine model systems to quantify the alterations in Pol II distribution, gene expression, and epigenetic chromatin signatures that occur when a cell receives specific stimuli from the environment.

In particular, the Adelman Group is interested in how gene networks can be 'poised' to respond in a rapid yet balanced manner to signals that arise during development, immune challenge or cellular insult. By expanding basic understanding of how cells dynamically react to external stimuli, this work provides new insights into gene-environment interactions. Moreover, since transcription dysregulation during such responses contributes to the etiology of numerous disease states including chronic inflammation and cancer, this work aims to identify novel targets or approaches for treating disease.

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