Laura Banaszynski, Ph.D. Associate Professor Endowed Title Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research School Medical School Department Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences | Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern | Obstetrics and Gynecology Graduate Programs Genetics, Development and Disease Biography Laura Banaszynski is an Associate Professor in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences. She holds secondary appointments in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Children's Research Institute. Dr. Banaszynski received her BS in Chemistry from The University of Notre Dame. She completed her PhD in Chemical & Systems Biology with Tom Wandless at Stanford University. She was then a Damon Runyon postdoctoral fellow with David Allis at The Rockefeller University. In 2015, Dr. Banaszynski joined the faculty of UT Southwestern. Dr. Banaszynski studies epigenetic contributions to gene expression and genome stability in mammalian systems. Her research focuses on the dynamic regulation of chromatin states at both coding and non-coding regions including the influence of histone variant incorporation on histone post-translational modification states. Her long-term goal is to improve our understanding of the chromatin-based mechanisms regulating fundamental cell-fate decisions in pluripotency and differentiation that are essential to our understanding of developmental processes. Research Interest Chromatin Biology Developmental Gene Regulation Histone Variants Stem Cells Publications Featured Publications H3.3 contributes to chromatin accessibility and transcription factor binding at promoter-proximal regulatory elements in embryonic stem cells. Tafessu A, O'Hara R, Martire S, Dube AL, Saha P, Gant VU, Banaszynski LA, Genome Biol 2023 Feb 24 1 25 ATRX promotes heterochromatin formation to protect cells from G-quadruplex DNA-mediated stress. Teng YC, Sundaresan A, O'Hara R, Gant VU, Li M, Martire S, Warshaw JN, Basu A, Banaszynski LA, Nat Commun 2021 06 12 1 3887 The roles of histone variants in fine-tuning chromatin organization and function. Martire S, Banaszynski LA, Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2020 09 21 9 522-541 Phosphorylation of histone H3.3 at serine 31 promotes p300 activity and enhancer acetylation. Martire S, Gogate AA, Whitmill A, Tafessu A, Nguyen J, Teng YC, Tastemel M, Banaszynski LA, Nat. Genet. 2019 Jun 51 6 941-946 Histone H3.3 is required for endogenous retroviral element silencing in embryonic stem cells. Elsässer SJ, Noh KM, Diaz N, Allis CD, Banaszynski LA Nature 2015 May Hira-dependent histone H3.3 deposition facilitates PRC2 recruitment at developmental loci in ES cells. Banaszynski LA, Wen D, Dewell S, Whitcomb SJ, Lin M, Diaz N, Elsässer SJ, Chapgier A, Goldberg AD, Canaani E, Rafii S, Zheng D, Allis CD Cell 2013 Sep 155 1 107-20 Distinct factors control histone variant H3.3 localization at specific genomic regions. Goldberg AD, Banaszynski LA, Noh KM, Lewis PW, Elsaesser SJ, Stadler S, Dewell S, Law M, Guo X, Li X, Wen D, Chapgier A, DeKelver RC, Miller JC, Lee YL, Boydston EA, Holmes MC, Gregory PD, Greally JM, Rafii S, Yang C, Scambler PJ, Garrick D, Gibbons RJ, Higgs DR, Cristea IM, Urnov FD, Zheng D, Allis CD Cell 2010 Mar 140 5 678-91 PASK links cellular energy metabolism with a mitotic self-renewal network to establish differentiation competence. Xiao M, Wu CH, Meek G, Kelly B, Castillo DB, Young LEA, Martire S, Dhungel S, McCauley E, Saha P, Dube AL, Gentry MS, Banaszynski LA, Sun RC, Kikani CK, Elife 2023 Apr 12 Chromatin Accessibility Analysis from Fresh and Cryopreserved Human Ovarian Follicles. Shannon J, Sundaresan A, Bukulmez O, Jiao Z, Doody K, Capelouto S, Carr B, Banaszynski LA, Mol Hum Reprod 2022 Jun Oncohistone Mutations Occur at Functional Sites of Regulatory ADP-ribosylation. Huang D, Camacho CV, Martire S, Nagari A, Setlem R, Gong X, Edwards AD, Chiu SP, Banaszynski LA, Kraus WL, Cancer Res 2022 Apr Results 1-10 of 32 1 2 3 4 Next Last Honors & Awards ACS Research Scholar Award (2020) NETRF Peterson Research Investigator (2017) Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas First Time Faculty Recruitment Award (2014-2018) American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry (2009) Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral FellowshipAngelo Family Fellow (2008-2011)
