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University of Kansas Cancer Center
University of Kansas Cancer Center  :  Leadership

Jerry Workman, PhD


J Workman Co-Chair, Transcriptional & Chromosomal Regulation
Research Program
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
jlw@stowers-institute.org

Jerry Workman, PhD chairs the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s Transcriptional and Chromosomal Regulation Research Program.  Dr. Workman is working with Dr. Roy Jensen to further develop this program.

Dr. Workman’s laboratory studies epigenetic regulation of gene expression by identifying, purifying and analyzing multisubunit protein complexes that modify chromatin for transcription. His laboratory has identified a number of histone acetyltransferases, histone deacetylases, histone methylases, histone de-methylases, and ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes.  He has determined that many of the identified subunits of these complexes are involved in tumor progression or suppression in humans, analysis of their functions provides insights into molecular mechanism of cancer. He is currently conducting studies to further investigate the role of these complexes and their respective histone modifications in the development of multicellular organisms.

Background

Dr. Workman received his BS degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois.  He went on to receive his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology in 1985 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Dr. Workman completed his Postdoc training in Bio Chemistry in 1988 at Rockefeller University in New York and in Genetics at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Dr. Workman joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry/Molecular Biology at Pennsylvania State University in 1992, where he worked until 2003.  Dr. Workman served as an Associate Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1997-2003.  He joined the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in 2003 and has served as an Investigator since.  Dr. Workman additionally serves on the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Counselors, on the Board of Reviewing Editors for SCIENCE magazine and on the Editorial Board of Genes and Development.

Recent Publications

  1. Lee, D., Ezhkova, E., Li, B., Pattenden, S., Tansey, W.P., Workman, J.L. (2005).  The Proteasome        Regulatory  Particle  Alters the SAGA Coactivator to Enhance its Interactions with Transcriptional Activators.  Cell  123, 423-36.
  2. Prochasson, P., Florens, L., Washburn, M.P., Workman, J.L. (2005). The HIR Corepressor Complex Binds to Nucleosomes Generating a Distinct Protein/DNA Complex Resistant to Remodeling by     SWI/SNF. Genes Dev., Nov 1;19(21):2534-9.
  3. Carrozza, M.J., Florens, L., Swanson, S.K., Lee, K.K., Shia, W.J., Anderson, S., Yates, J.R., Washburn, M.P., Workman, J.L. (2005).  Histone H3 Methylation by Set2 Directs Deacetylation of Coding Regions by Rpd3S to Suppress Spurious Intragenic Transcription. Cell, Nov 18;123(4):581-92.
  4. Li, B., Pattenden, S.G., Lee, D., Gutierrez, J., Chen, J., Seidel, C., Gerton, J., Workman, J.L.(2005) Preferential Occupancy of Histone Variant H2AZ at Inactive Promoters Influences Local Histone
    Modifications and Chromatin Remodeling , Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., Dec 20;102(51):18385-90.
  5. Carrozza, M.J., Florens, L., Swanson, S.K., Lee, K.K., Shia, W.J., Anderson, S., Yates, J.R., Washburn, M.P., Workman, J.L. (2005).  Histone H3 Methylation by Set2 Directs Deacetylation of Coding Regions by Rpd3S to Suppress Spurious Intragenic Transcription. Cell, 123(4):581-92.
  6. Shia, W.J., Li, B., Workman, J.L. (2006) SAS-mediated acetylation of histone H4 lysine 16 is required for H2A.Z incorporation at subtelomeric regions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Genes and Development, 20:2507-12.
  7. Carey, M. Li, B. Workman, J.L. (2006) RSC exploits histone acetylation to abrogate the nucleosomal block to RNA polymerase II elongation. Mol. Cell. 24, 481-487.
  8. Li, B., Carey, M., Workman, J.L., (2007). The Role of Chromatin during Transcription, Cell 128, 707-19.
  9. Li, B., Gogol, M., Carey, M., Lee, D, Seidel, C., Workman, J.L., (2007). Combinatorial action of the Rco1 PHD domain and the Eaf3 chromodomain directs the Rpd3S complex to deacetylate transcribed chromatin, Science 316, 1050-4.
  10. Li, B., Gogol, M., Carey, M., Pattenden, S. G., Seidel, C., Workman, J.L., (2007) Infrequently transcribed long genes depend on the Set2/Rpd3S pathway for accurate transcription, Genes and Development  21, 1422-30.