Professor Kabirul Islam focuses on chemical biology, with an emphasis on understanding epigenetic mechanisms. His research investigates how chromatin-modifying proteins regulate gene expression through chemical modifications of DNA and histones. These studies aim to uncover the role of epigenetic processes in controlling cell development and disease progression. His lab utilizes synthetic biology, synthetic chemistry, protein engineering, and biochemistry to develop probes for exploring these pathways. His work has applications in cancer and regenerative medicine.
“Nitric oxide inhibits ten-eleven translocation DNA demethylases to regulate 5mC and 5hmC across the genome,” Palczewski MB, Kuschman HP, Hoffman BM, Kathiresan V, Yang H, Glynn SA, Wilson DL, Kool ET, Montfort WR, Chang J, Petenkaya A, Chronis C, Cundari TR, Sappa S, Islam K, McVicar DW, Fan Y, Chen Q, Meerzaman D, Sierk M, Thomas DD Nature Communication 2025, 16, 1732
“Analogue-Sensitive Inhibition of Histone Demethylases Uncovers Member-Specific Function in Ribosomal Protein Synthesis,” Kuwik J, Scott V, Chedid S, Stransky S, Hinkelman K, Kavoosi S, Calderon M, Watkins S, Sidoli S, Islam K J Am Chem Soc. 2025, 147, 3341-3352
“Development of a rapid mass spectrometric method for the analysis of ten-eleven translocation enzymes,” Graves C, Islam K Methods Enzymol. 2024, 703, 87-120
“Activity Guided Azide-methyllysine Photo-trapping for Substrate Profiling of Lysine Demethylases,” Kuwik, J.; Hinkelman, K.; Waldman, M.; Stepler, K.; Wagner, S.; Arora, S.; Chernekoff, S.; Cabalteja, C.; Sidoli, S.; Robinson, R.; Islam, K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 21066-21076
“5-Dihydroxyboryluridine Enhances Cytosolic Penetration of Antisense Oligonucleotides,” Kavoosi, S.; Deprey, K.; Kritzer, J.; Islam, K Chem. Commun. 2023, 59, 8692-8695