Spring 2025 Grantee Highlight:
Agata Smogorzewska

Agata Smogorzewska, MD, PhD
Professor, Laboratory of Genome Maintenance, Rockefeller University

The Laboratory of Genome Maintenance, led by Agata Smogorzewska, investigates how cells maintain the integrity of their genetic material during division—a process especially critical in fast-dividing cancer cells. Built-in quality control checkpoints help ensure accurate DNA replication, and cancer cells are particularly dependent on these systems to survive.

The lab recently discovered that Replication Termination Factor 2 (RTF2) plays a central role in this quality control. Located at the replication fork, RTF2 connects key proteins involved in coordinating DNA replication checkpoints.

This project will use Cryo-Electron Microscopy to visualize RTF2 during replication. The goal is to reveal how the replication machinery interacts with checkpoint systems to maintain genome stability.

By uncovering these molecular details, the Smogorzewska Lab aims to identify new strategies to selectively target DNA replication checkpoints—offering promising avenues for more precise and effective cancer therapies.