Welcome to the Shpargel Lab!

The Shpargel Lab is located in the University of Georgia Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. We are interested in studying how chromatin-modifying enzymes direct appropriate gene transcription. These enzymes epigenetically regulate DNA accessibility, histone post-translational modifications, and binding of transcription factors to promote transcriptional states that can be maintained through cell divisions.

Mutation of chromatin-modifying proteins can have adverse effects on normal human development. Many craniofacial syndromic disorders result from mutations in chromatin machinery as well as cancer. We use variety of genetic techniques to model human disorders in the mouse, isolate cells of interest through reporter-based flow cytometry, and perform genomics to study where these chromatin factors are bound and to identify the mechanisms by which they are functioning. We utilize a variety of innovate genomic methodology including: