The Sullivan Lab is located at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. We are part of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy.

Our lab is interested in how chromosomes are epigenetically organized into inherited chromatin domains. Normal chromosome structure and inheritance is essential for cell viability, health, and reproduction. Defects in chromosomal processes lead to aneuploidy (deviation from normal chromosome number), a feature of many birth defects and cancers.

Using experimental approaches that integrate cytology, cell biology, genetics, and molecular biology, we study functional elements of centromeric chromatin in human cells and the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We are also applying genomic approaches to identify and study DNA structure and chromatin organization at genomic regions that are prone to breakage and rearrangement.

Our research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the March of Dimes.