Chen Ee Sin (PhD)
Assistant Professor
8 Medical Drive, BlockMD7, room 03-09, Singapore 117597
Email: bchces@nus.edu.sg
Tel: (65) 6516-5616
Fax: (65) 6779-1453
MAJOR RESEARCH INTERESTS
Maintaining the integrity of the genome is essential for the survival of a cell and genomic instability
is associated with many human diseases including cancers. A cell ensures the integrity of its genome
with an intricate interplay of epigenetic and genetic mechanisms to safeguard nuclear processes,
including chromosome segregation, repair of DNA damage lesions and gene expression. Our lab
aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms by:
* Identifying and characterizing factors that control essential chromatin functions that have direct
implication to genomic stability.
* Elucidating how different epigenetic mechanisms interplay to control faithful inheritance of
chromatin information through the cell cycle.
* Investigating how cells modulate its epigenetic “memory” in sync with environment.
* Investigating the global physiological effects of chemotherapeutic agents currently in clinical
usage.
Our lab employs the powerful genetics, cytology and biochemistry of the model organism fission
yeast in conjunction with system biological approach to address these important issues. Results
obtained will be extended to study epigenetic and genetic mechanisms operating in the human cells,
so as to facilitate the development of therapy for human diseases.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
1. Takahashi K., Chen E.S., and Yanagida M. (2000) Requirement of Mis6 centromere connector
for localizing a CENP-A-like protein in fission yeast. Science 288, 2215-2219.
2. Chen E.S., Saitoh S., Yanagida M., and Takahashi K. (2003) A cell cycle-regulated GATA factor
promotes centromeric localization of CENP-A in fission yeast. Molecular Cell 11, 175-187.
3. Chen E.S., Yanagida M., and Takahashi K. (2003) Does a GATA factor makes the bed for
centromeric nucleosomes? Cell Cycle 2, 277-278.
4. Chen E.S., Sutani T., and Yanagida M. (2004) Cti1/C1D interacts with condensin SMC hinge and
supports the DNA repair function of condensin. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Science USA 101, 8078-8083.
5. Cam H.P., Sugiyama T., Chen E.S., Chen X., FitzGerald P.C., and Grewal S.I.S. (2005)
Comparative analysis of heterochromatin- and RNAi-mediated epigenetic control of the fission
yeast genome. Nature Genetics 37, 809-819.
6. Chen E.S., K. Zhang, Nicholas E., Cam H.P., Zofall M., and Grewal S.I.S. (2008) Cell cycle control
of centromeric repeat transcription and heterochromatin assembly. Nature 451, 734-737.
7. Cam H.P., Chen E.S., and Grewal S.I.S. (2009) Transcriptional scaffolds for heterochromatin
assembly. Cell 136, 610-614.