A twist in the human genome
Photo Credit
Duke University

A twist in the human genome

Basic scientific research in the lab of Hashim Al-Hashimi has the potential to improve our fundamental understanding of genome architecture.

The generous support of the Mathers Foundation will help us provide, if you will, a zip code by which we may be able to understand which DNA regions act differently than others. We may be able to understand why certain regions of the DNA are more prone to mutations.

— Hashim Al-Hashimi, James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry 

Al-Hashimi’s proposal to create a map of novel structures in the human genome was selected by the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation for $1 million in funding. His new work aims to build upon his discovery in 2011 that the double helix structure of DNA base pairs intermittently change their configuration. Al-Hashimi hopes that mapping these structures will improve our understanding of disease processes such as cancer.