Welcome to the Harrington Lab!

We study the mechanisms by which cells maintain genome integrity through the maintenance of their chromosome ends, called telomeres.

Our goal is to understand how factors that influence the equilibrium of these non-coding, G-rich telomeric regions impact the fate of stem cells, normal cells and tissues during aging, and in cancer. This work involves investigation of biochemical, genetic and epigenetic alterations in normal mammalian cells and cancer cells across species including budding yeast, humans, mice and even wild sheep.

Our studies are relevant to human diseases in which telomere erosion results in bone marrow failure and other immunological disorders (called ‘telomeropathies’), and may also have implications in the treatment of many cancers, especially those whose prevalence increases with age.