Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program at UC Davis

Satoshi Namekawa and his lab address how epigenetic mechanisms govern spermatogenesis and oogenesis, culminating in the generation of functional sperm and eggs. Lab members emphasize dynamic changes in the epigenetic machinery and their importance to the next generation, and study the molecular functions of DNA damage response pathways—which direct meiotic sex chromosome inactivation—in the epigenetic regulation of the sex chromosomes. Through their research, they seek to clarify how fundamental germline mechanisms intersect to ensure genome maintenance, genome defense, and epigenetic gene regulation on a systemic level.