Grace Cheng, PhD

Dr. Cheng earned her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in the laboratory of Dr. Ganjam V. Kalpana. The focus of her doctoral studies was examining the targeting of transcription factors and HIV-1 Integrase to open regions of chromatin via a interactions with components of the SWI/SNF complex. Taking the skills and techniques she developed during her Ph.D., she joined the laboratory of the late Dr. Michael R. Green at UMASS Medical School where she studied mammalian RNA-Pol II holoenzyme and Mediator Complex assembly at transcription start sites. Dr. Cheng’s current studies involves in the use of mass spectrometry and molecular biological techniques to decipher the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of transcription elongation and co-ordinate RNA splicing in cancer.