Brooks Crickard

• PhD Pennsylvania State University

The research focus of the Crickard laboratory is to understand the mechanisms by which enzymes function to maintain genetic information stored in chromosomes. Projects in the laboratory focus on DNA strand invasion and strand exchange during the process of homologous recombination. A universally conserved pathway organisms use to maintain their chromosomes. Our laboratory uses a combination of biochemical, biophysical, and genetic approaches as we seek to develop high resolution models.

Recent Publications:

Crickard JB  Discrete roles for Rad54 and Rdh54 during homologous recombination. (2021) Current Opinion in Genetics & Development PMID: 34293661

Crickard JB, Kwon Y, Sung P, Greene EC Rad54 and Rdh54 occupy spatially and functionally distinct sites within the Rad51-ssDNA presynaptic complex. (2020) EMBO J PMID: 32790929

Crickard JB, Moevus CJ, Kwon Y, Sung P, Greene EC. Rad54 drives ATP-hydrolysis dependent DNA sequence alignment during homologous recombination (2020) Cell. PMID: 32502392

2017-2020 Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellow

Brooks teaches BIOMG 3350 an introductory biochemistry course. His current goals are to improve his ability to teach enzymatic reaction mechanisms to undergraduates, including improved methods for teaching enzyme kinetics.