Helena S. Francis

Active regulatory elements recruit cohesin to establish cell-specific chromatin domains.

The paper shows that active enhancers recruit cohesin to form cell-specific chromatin domains, using the alpha globin cluster as a model.

The characteristics of CTCF binding sequences contribute to enhancer blocking activity

This study identifies CTCF binding sequences that effectively block enhancer-promoter activity, showing that their function is not correlated with CTCF/cohesin levels, conservation, or sequence similarity to consensus motifs.

Multipartite super-enhancers function in an orientation-dependent manner

The paper shows that super-enhancers function directionally and orientation-dependently, unlike regular enhancers, by analyzing the β-globin super-enhancer.

Super-enhancers require a combination of classical enhancers and novel facilitator elements to drive high levels of gene expression

The paper investigates the functional interdependence of super-enhancer elements in erythroid -globin gene regulation, revealing the necessity of facilitator elements for optimal activity.

Scalable In Vitro Production of Defined Mouse Erythroblasts

This paper establishes a scalable protocol to isolate primitive-like erythroid cells from in vitro differentiated mESCs, showing they recapitulate normal erythropoiesis and mutation effects seen in primary cells.