Alexander J. Ruthenburg, PhD

The unifying theme of my lab is the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying management chromatin, the physiological form of the genome. In particular, we are interested in how post translational modifications to histones, newly appreciated DNA modifications and noncoding RNA can control chromatin structure. Our research spans several traditional disciplines, ranging from discovery biochemistry and genome-scale measurements to mechanistic characterization with biophysical methods coupled with X-Ray structure to address fundamental questions in chromatin biology. We have pioneered new technologies to make quantitative local measurements of chromatin components. Projects ideally will transition from discovery biology to detailed molecular and structural investigation.

Rockefeller University
New York, NY
Postdoctoral Fellow - Chromatin biochemistry and epigenetics
2010

Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Ph.D. - Chemical and Structural biology
2005

Carleton College
Northfield, MN
B.A. - Chemistry
1999

Guiding the HBO1 complex function through the JADE subunit.
Guiding the HBO1 complex function through the JADE subunit. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2024 Jul; 31(7):1039-1049.
PMID: 38448574

Merging short and stranded long reads improves transcript assembly.
Merging short and stranded long reads improves transcript assembly. PLoS Comput Biol. 2023 Oct; 19(10):e1011576.
PMID: 37883581

Charles David Allis (1951-2023).
Charles David Allis (1951-2023). Nat Genet. 2023 Apr; 55(4):522-523.
PMID: 36849658

Specificity Guides Interpretation: On H3K4 Methylation at Enhancers and Broad Promoters.
Specificity Guides Interpretation: On H3K4 Methylation at Enhancers and Broad Promoters. bioRxiv. 2023 Jan 17.
PMID: 36711866

Profiling lariat intermediates reveals genetic determinants of early and late co-transcriptional splicing.
Profiling lariat intermediates reveals genetic determinants of early and late co-transcriptional splicing. Mol Cell. 2022 12 15; 82(24):4681-4699.e8.
PMID: 36435176

Non-canonical H3K79me2-dependent pathways promote the survival of MLL-rearranged leukemia.
Non-canonical H3K79me2-dependent pathways promote the survival of MLL-rearranged leukemia. Elife. 2021 07 15; 10.
PMID: 34263728

Sequence deeper without sequencing more: Bayesian resolution of ambiguously mapped reads.
Sequence deeper without sequencing more: Bayesian resolution of ambiguously mapped reads. PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 04; 17(4):e1008926.
PMID: 33872311

Epigenetic homogeneity in histone methylation underlies sperm programming for embryonic transcription.
Epigenetic homogeneity in histone methylation underlies sperm programming for embryonic transcription. Nat Commun. 2020 07 13; 11(1):3491.
PMID: 32661239

Chromatin-enriched RNAs mark active and repressive cis-regulation: An analysis of nuclear RNA-seq.
Chromatin-enriched RNAs mark active and repressive cis-regulation: An analysis of nuclear RNA-seq. PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 02; 16(2):e1007119.
PMID: 32040509

Native internally calibrated chromatin immunoprecipitation for quantitative studies of histone post-translational modifications.
Native internally calibrated chromatin immunoprecipitation for quantitative studies of histone post-translational modifications. Nat Protoc. 2019 12; 14(12):3275-3302.
PMID: 31723301

View All Publications

New Scholar in Aging
Ellison Medical Foundation
2013 - 2017

Kavli Fellow
National Academy of Sciences
2011

Neubauer Family Foundation Assistant Professor
University of Chicago
2010 - 2015

Junior Investigator
Chicago Biomedical Consortium
2010 - 2012

Irvington Institute Research Fellowship
Cancer Research Institute
2007 - 2010

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
Harvard University
2000 - 2004