Welcome to the Garcia Lab
“Spectrometry for the Masses”
The Garcia Lab utilizes high-resolution mass spectrometry to explore cellular signaling, epigenetic mechanisms and chromatin regulation. We are especially interested in understanding how protein and nucleic acid modifications mediate their canonical functions and regulate nuclear processes. Mass spectrometry has become an unparalleled tool in the analysis of these biological molecules and allows us to obtain quantitative information about modifications as well as their co-occurrence. These modifications are critical for nuclear stability and transcription; and dysregulation of these pathways underlie several human diseases such as cancer. Our work aims to reveal the roles of these modifications in the cell cycle, proliferation, differentiation, signaling pathways and metabolism, to consequently help elucidate the mechanisms of various diseases. The Garcia Lab is part of the Epigenetics Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics here at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
May 2020
Collaboration with the Taylor Lab (University of Toronto) to study epigenetic changes in ependymomas is published in Cell.
The lab goes 3 for 3, as Janice, Neha and Michael have passed their 2nd year prelim candidacy exams, congrats to all!!
Former graduate student Dylan Marchione has won the Saul Winegrad Award for Outstanding Dissertation, congratulations! His graduation profile can be seen here.
Ben is re-elected to the US Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) board of directors.
Collaborations with the Gill lab (Penn) and the Sarma lab (Wistar) to identify chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for solid tumors, and to investigate how ATRX-RNA interactions regulate PRC2 localization have been published in Nature Biotechnology, and Nature Communications, respectively.
April 2020
Collaborations with the Martinez lab (UT Southwestern) to study Jumonji protein activity in the malaria parasite, and with the Wu lab (UPenn) to understand how bacteria influence the neonatal microbiome are published in ACS Infectious Diseases, and Nature Microbiology, respectively.
Janice has been awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship, congrats!!
Julia Tasca has joined the Garcia Lab (joint with Roberto Bonasio), welcome to the group!
Lindsay has been selected to receive the ASMS Postdoctoral Career Development Award, congratulations!
Former graduate student Kelly Karch (Wysocki lab at Ohio State) also is awarded an ASMS Postdoctoral Career Development Award, congrats.