Flipons: The Discovery of Z-DNA and Soft-Wired Genomes

Dr. Alan Herbert's career spans both academia and industry. He is Head of Discovery at InsideOutBio and has published in high profile journals. His work on left-handed Z-DNA and Z-RNA has proven that besides the right-handed DNA double helix that Watson and Crick first described, higher energy forms of DNA and RNA are used in the cell to regulate many important biological functions including defenses against viruses and cancer and to regulate the readout of information from the genome. His publications include one providing the first genetic evidence for the biological relevance of the Z-DNA/Z-RNA conformation. This work started with his discovery at MIT of the Zα family of proteins that recognize a form of left-handed DNA called Z-DNA. During this time, Dr. Herbert has had many fruitful collaborations with scientists worldwide who have made great contributions to the work. These discoveries led to the therapeutic targeting of ZBP1lated to develop a new therapy for the treatment of solid tumors. In other endeavors, he pioneered the use of Genome Wide Association Studies at Boston University and contributed to the development of new drug programs at Merck. Dr. Herbert has also helped expand understanding of the role of the alternative DNA structures encoded by genetic elements called flipons in evolution. He has also detailed mechanisms by which the interactions between small noncoding RNAs and flipons regulate the sequence-specific read of genes during embryonic development.