Rafik Neme, Ph.D.

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Rafik Neme, Ph.D.
Pew Latin America Fellows
Title
Assistant Professor
Department
Chemistry and Biology
Institution
Universidad del Norte
Address
Oficina 2-8 L6
Edificio Julio Muvdi
City
Barranquilla
Country
Colombia
Phone
+57 5 3509509 x3236
Email
[email protected]
Research field
Evolutionary Biology
Award year
2017
Country of origin
Colombia
Mentor name
Laura Landweber, Ph.D.

Research

The Landweber lab investigates how some unusual single-celled organisms can break apart—and correctly reassemble—their chromosomes without making any fatal mistakes. A handful of pond-dwelling organisms keep their DNA in two nuclei—one of which contains DNA that will be fragmented before mating and then pieced back together in the resulting offspring. Using a suite of approaches in molecular, computational, and evolutionary biology, I will compare the genomes of several of these organisms to assess how and when this ability evolved, the molecular components that underlie the process, and how this system influences molecular innovation. These findings will enhance our understanding of how cells maintain genome organization and integrity, a process that often goes awry in human cancers.

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