BIOGRAPHY

2010-present: Head of the Genome Biology Department, John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU
2008-present: Professor, John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU
2003-200: Senior Fellow, John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU
1999-2002: Fellow (tenured), John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU
1997-1999: Fellow, John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU
1992-1996: Research Fellow (and Group leader), John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU
1990- 1992: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Rochester, Department of Biology, USA

Research Field and Interest

The aim of my group is to understand and link chromatin structure with its role in controlling the differentiation process by studying histone variants. He always endeavours to develop new skills and technologies in order to be at the cutting edge of his field. For example, he has established many new and complex techniques to study chromatin structure (e.g. establishing the first in vitro chromatin assembly system employing recombinant histones and a range of structural and biophysical approaches), and chromatin function (establishing new biological systems ranging from Drosophila genetics to mouse embryology, stem cell differentiation and most recently has utilized mouse spermatogenesis as an in vivo model for differentiation). To illustrate this point his recent NSMB publication (A unique H2A histone variant occupies the transcriptional start site of active genes) combines developmental biology (mouse spermatogenesis), with a transcriptomic and epigenomic analysis with structural biology, which has not been done before.

Selected Publications

Soboleva TA, Nekrasov M, Pahwa A, Williams R, Huttley GA, Tremethick DJ (2012)
A unique H2A histone variant occupies the transcriptional start site of active genes. Nat Struct Mol Biol 19: 25-30
Nekrasov M, Amrichova, J., Parker, B.J., Soboleva, T.A., Jack, C., Williams R, Huttley
GA, Tremethick DJ (2012). H2A.Z inheritance during the cell cycle and its impact on promoter organisation and dynamics. Nat Struct Mol Biol 19: 1076-1083.
Luger, K., Dechassa, ML., and Tremethick DJ (2012). New insights into nucleosome
and chromatin structure: an ordered state or a disordered affair. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 13:436-47