Beth Sullivan
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor
Overview
Research in the Sullivan Lab is focused on chromosome organization, with a specific emphasis on the genomics and epigenetics of the chromosomal locus called the centromere. The centromere is a specialized chromosomal site involved in chromosome architecture and movement, and when defective, is linked to cancer, birth defects, and infertility. The lab has described a unique type of chromatin (CEN chromatin) that forms exclusively at the centromere by replacement of core histone H3 by the centromeric histone variant CENP-A. Their studies also explore the composition of CEN chromatin and its relationship to the underlying highly repetitive alpha satellite DNA at the centromere. The Sullivan lab also discovered that genomic variation within alpha satellite DNA affects where the centromere is built and how well it functions. The Sullivan lab was part of the Telomere-to-Telomere T2T Consortium that used ultra long read sequencing and optical mapping to completely assemble each human chromosome, including through millions of basepairs of alpha satellite DNA at each centromere. Dr. Sullivan's group also builds human artificial chromosomes (HACs), using them as tools to test components required for a viable, transmissible chromosome and to study centromeric transcription and chromosome stability. The lab also studies formation and fate of chromosome abnormalities associated with birth defects, reproductive abnormalities, and cancer. Specifically, they study chromosomal abnormalities with two centromeres, called dicentric chromosomes. Originally described by Nobelist Barbara McClintock in the 1930s, dicentrics in most organisms are considered inherently unstable chromosomes because they trigger genome instability. However, dicentric chromosomes in humans are very stable and are often transmitted through multiple generations of a family. Using several approaches to experimentally reproduce dicentric chromosomes in human cells, the lab explores mechanisms of dicentric formation and their long-term fate.
Positions
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor in the School of Medicine
2023 School of Medicine
Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in the School of Medicine
2020 School of Medicine
Associate Dean of Research Training in the School of Medicine
2019 School of Medicine
Professor of Cell Biology in the School of Medicine
2022 School of Medicine
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society in the Institutes and Provost's Academic Units
2018 Institutes and Provost's Academic Units
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute in the School of Medicine
2005 School of Medicine
Education
Ph.D. 1995
1995 University of Maryland, Baltimore
Publications, Grants & Awards
- Grants (21)
- Awards (3)
- Academics Articles (71)
- Book Sections (7)
- Conference Pages (6)
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
University of Connecticut
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
March of Dimes
National Institutes of Health
March of Dimes
National Institutes of Health
March of Dimes
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
DUke School of Medicine
American Association for the Advancement of Science
March of Dimes
Cell Reports
Genome Research
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
The Embo Journal
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
The Journal of Cell Biology
The Journal of Cell Biology
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
Bmc Biology
Prog Mol Subcell Biol
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
Epigenetics & Chromatin
Trends in Genetics : Tig
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
The Embo Journal
Curr Opin Cell Biol
Plos Genetics
Methods Mol Biol
Cancer Biol Ther
Genome Research
Developmental Cell
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics
Cellular Immunology
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Trends in Biotechnology
Developmental Cell
The Journal of Cell Biology
Nature Reviews. Genetics
Nature Genetics
American Journal of Medical Genetics
Current Biology : Cb
Human Molecular Genetics
American Journal of Human Genetics
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis
Human Molecular Genetics
Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics
American Journal of Medical Genetics
Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry: Third Edition
EPIGENETICS: CURRENT RESEARCH AND EMERGING TRENDS
Brenner's Encyclopedia of Genetics: Second Edition
Brenner's Encyclopedia of Genetics: Second Edition
Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry: Second Edition
Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Molecular Biology of the Cell
American Journal of Human Genetics
American Journal of Human Genetics
American Journal of Human Genetics
American Journal of Human Genetics
Offices & Contact
Durham, NC
27710 Box 3054 DUMC, 361 CARL
Durham, NC
27710