Jasper Rine

Biography

    Dr. Rine has been on the UC Berkeley faculty since 1982. His research spans the fields of genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry. He was the director of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Human Genome Center from 1991 to 1994, and more recently served as Director of the Center for Computational Biology at UC Berkeley. His research accomplishments include the construction of the first genetic map of the dog genome, discovery of biochemical links between cholesterol biosynthesis and cancer-causing genes, and the discovery of a mechanism of epigenetic inheritance. His current research is centered on epigenetic mechanisms including how specialized domains of chromatin structure are established, maintained and inherited. His studies use the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and powerful genetic, genomic and proteomic approaches. His lab is also focused on exploring the functional consequences of human genetic and epigenetic variation with the goal of understanding and reducing the incidence of a common birth defect, such as spina bifida, and other complex diseases. He is a recipient of the University Distinguished Teaching Award, and was a Professor of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Among his honors are election to the National Academy of Science, and to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Rine has significant experience with next generation DNA sequencing methods and their applications to chromatin. His most recent new area of investigation is the impact of human genetic variation on the function of vitamin-dependent enzymes. He has trained 31 Ph.D. students and 28 Postdoctoral fellows, most of whom hold current academic positions (approximately 20 currently are tenured faculty at research universities), and others lead biotech companies.  

Research Interest