Joonas Artturi Jamsen, MSc, PhD

Research Program: Cancer Biology Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor Campus: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College: College of Medicine Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Cancer Research Interest

• Disease Site Focus: Breast, Brain, Leukemia/ Lymphoma, Thoracic/ Lung, No Specific Disease Site
• Research Focus Area: Carcinogenesis, Treatment, Detection, Prevention
• Type of Research: Basic, Translational
• Research Keywords: DNA repair, Mechanism, Oxidative stress, Double Strand Break Repair, Structural Biology, Enzymology
• Research Interest Statement: Chromosomal double strand breaks (DSBs) are formed through environmental exposure (e.g., radiation, pollution, chemicals, toxins, metabolism), in many physiological processes (e.g., immune and neuronal development, chromosome segregation, DNA replication), and are induced by therapeutics (e.g., chemotherapeutics, Crispr/Cas). While DSBs can be rapidly and accurately repaired by cellular DSB repair pathways, break substrates are often extensively modified leading to divergent repair outcomes. The genomic diversity resulting from error-prone repair is crucial to many physiological functions relying on programmed DSB repair, such as adaptive immunity and neuronal development/function, but also forms the basis for mutagenesis, chromosomal aberrations, and tumorigenesis that can lead to cancer and disease. The molecular strategies underlying the mechanisms of DSB processing that result in correct and erroneous repair are poorly understood. A thorough understanding of these strategies is urgently needed in order to prevent and treat the wide range of cancers and pathologies induced by the lack of, or malfunctions in, these crucial DNA repair pathways. An integrated approach consisting of cutting-edge structural biology, mechanistic biochemistry, chemical biology, and molecular biology will reveal fundamental molecular repair strategies, from atomic level mechanisms of break end-processing to the role and impact of the architecture of the multiprotein repair complex on repair outcomes. This understanding will inform mechanism-based development of therapeutic strategies targeting DNA repair in cancer.

Contact Information

• Email Address: JAJamsen@uams.edu
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Active Grants

• NIGMS – 1P20GM152281
  “Unraveling DNA Polymerase Double-Strand Break Repair Strategies in Cancer”
  Principal Investigator
  3/5/2024 – 12/31/2028
• NIH/Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences – 4R00ES029572
  “The Molecular Architecture of Oxidative Stress Induced Double Strand Break Repair”
  Principal Investigator
  3/8/2023 – 2/28/2026

Recent Publications

• Chandramouly G, Jamsen J, Borisonnik N, [et al.]. Author Correction: Polλ promotes microhomology-mediated end-joining. Nature structural & molecular biology. 2023. PMID: 37059901.
• Chandramouly G, Jamsen J, Borisonnik N, [et al.]. Polλ promotes microhomology-mediated end-joining. Nature structural & molecular biology. 2023 30(1):107-114. PMID: 36536104. PMCID: PMC10197178.
• Jamsen JA, Shock DD, Wilson SH. Watching right and wrong nucleotide insertion captures hidden polymerase fidelity checkpoints. Nature communications. 2022 13(1):3193. PMID: 35680862. PMCID: PMC9184648.
• Jamsen JA, Sassa A, Perera L, [et al.]. Structural basis for proficient oxidized ribonucleotide insertion in double strand break repair. Nature communications. 2021 12(1):5055. PMID: 34417448. PMCID: PMC8379156.
• Jamsen JA, Sassa A, Shock DD, [et al.]. Watching a double strand break repair polymerase insert a pro-mutagenic oxidized nucleotide. Nature communications. 2021 12(1):2059. PMID: 33824325. PMCID: PMC8024293.