The research in the Bracht laboratory focuses on how genomes change. Genomic change can take many forms, from epigenetic modifications (changing genomic function) to genome rearrangements (changing the genomic structure) to evolutionary change (changing the genomic sequence).

The sequencing revolution has fundamentally altered biological science. A major goal of the laboratory is to sift through genomic data to extract biological meaning, and to generate testable hypotheses from those data. A vital next step is to test those hypotheses at the lab bench. We use a wide range of both computational and molecular methods in our work.

Three main projects are currently underway:

• Investigating a germline-limited chromosome in zebra finches.
• Sequencing the genome of a subterrestrial nematode.
• Developing genome-based diagnostics for infectious disease.

Two additional research interests in the lab:

• identifying candidate epigenetic drugs in cancer cells.
• Evaluating the epigenetics of adipose-derived stem cell differentiation.