{"id":4869,"date":"2015-06-27T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-27T19:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/biochem\/directory\/ramsden\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T11:59:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:59:48","slug":"ramsden","status":"publish","type":"directory","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/biochem\/directory\/ramsden\/","title":{"rendered":"Dale Andrew Ramsden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- title_affiliation --><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span class=\"blue\"><em><strong>Professor<br \/>\n2025 Retreat Committee member<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><span class=\"discreet\">(PhD &#8211; University of Toronto)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-10603\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/biochem\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/795\/2019\/08\/Faculty-OGE-Trained-mentor-badge-400dpi-for-website-150x150.png\" alt=\"Trained Faculty Mentor endorsed by Office of Graduate Ed UNC Chapel Hill\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/biochem\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/795\/2019\/08\/Faculty-OGE-Trained-mentor-badge-400dpi-for-website-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/biochem\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/795\/2019\/08\/Faculty-OGE-Trained-mentor-badge-400dpi-for-website-64x64.png 64w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><span style=\"background-color: #4682b4;color: #ffffff\">Accepting Rotation Students<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3><strong><span class=\"blue\">HONORS &amp; AWARDS<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/unclineberger.org\/news\/ramsden-receives-battle-award-for-groundbreaking-genome-stability-research\/\">Hyman L. Battle Distinguished Cancer Research Award, 2025<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3187b6\">Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholarship: 2006-2011<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3187b6\">Jefferson Pilot Fellowship: 2003-2006<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3187b6\">Searle Scholar: 1999-2002<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3187b6\">Cancer Research Institute Fellowship: 1996-1998<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3187b6\"><span style=\"color: #3187b6\"><span style=\"color: #3187b6\">Governor<\/span>\u00a0General&#8217;s Gold Medal: 1994<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ramsden lab were the first to link several newly described DNA polymerases to NHEJ, and then showed how three different DNA polymerases make unique contributions to this pathway. They have varying substrate requirements that dictated their biological roles, and additionally have varying affinity for the NHEJ holoenzyme, ensuring a hierarchy of recruitment. His lab has additionally collaborated with several other groups in the research triangle area (Drs Kunkel, Pederson, and London, NIEHS; Dr. Lee, UNC) to clarify the structural basis for these differing biochemical characteristics.<\/p>\n<p>Ramsden lab determined another component of NHEJ, Ku, has several unanticipated functions. His lab first determined it is sufficient for a kind of ?passive? chromatin remodeling: it peels DNA off the surface of nucleosomes without the typical requirement for ATP hydrolysis. More recently we characterized Ku as an enzyme. It is an AP lyase, and helps process damaged ends expected in the course of chromosome break repair. It is surprisingly one of the primary sources of AP lyase activity in cell extracts, and is uniquely active on its expected biological substrate (double strand breaks).<\/p>\n<h3><strong> <span style=\"color: #3187b6\">RESEARCH SUMMARY<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"alert alert-gray\" style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<p>Mammals use three distinct pathways for repairing chromosome breaks. Ramsden lab is interested in the mechanistic details of how each pathway works, but also how and why a given pathway is chosen, and the consequences of choosing the \u201cwrong\u201d pathway. Ramsden lab&#8217;s work has relevance to normal organismal development and aging, as well as carcinogenesis and cancer therapy. Notably, repair of chromosome breaks is also central to genome engineering.<\/p>\n<p>Ramsden lab uses diverse approaches, including biochemical analyses and somatic cell genetics. Ramsden lab also work closely with a wide variety of labs with expertise in protein structure determination, biophysics, cell biology, and model organism genetics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong><span class=\"blue\">SELECTED PUBLICATIONS<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/?term=Ramsden+DA&amp;sort=date&amp;size=200\">complete list of publications for Dale Ramsden<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><!-- description --> <\/p>\n<p class='lead'>Research: Chromosome breaks, DNA repair, enzymes that repair DNA, Targeting DNA repair for cancer therapy, RNA in the chromosome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8202,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-4869","directory","type-directory","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the 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