Click image to enlarge

Scott Bailey

Rank: Assistant Professor
Joined BMB: July 1, 2008
Upbringing: Sheffield, United Kingdom

Previous Position: Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Thomas A. Steitz, Yale University

Research interest: Maintaining the integrity of genetic information is a fundamental requirement for the life of a cell and the survival of a species. Cellular DNA is continuously subjected to insult from both exogenous and endogenous sources. Thus, the repair or tolerance of these insults is a necessity for the cell.

Research in my laboratory focuses on the molecular basis of the processes that relate to genome integrity. The strategy that we use is based primarily on structural studies using X-ray crystallography. A central premise of our work is that in order for structural studies to provide understanding of these processes we must know the structure of the entire assembly that executes the process, captured at each step in the process. From such studies we derive mechanistic models relating the physical features and chemistry of proteins and nucleic acids to their function. Interrogation of these models using mutagenesis, biochemistry and cell-based techniques further relates structure to function and provides a more complete molecular description of the process at hand.

“I joined the BMB Department because of the atmosphere generated by the faculty and students. My interests in the molecular basis of the processes that govern genome integrity also complemented the mission of the department.”
- Scott Bailey