The Noyce lab works at the interface of systems biology and synthetic biology, using high-throughput experimental assays plus computational/AI modeling to understand protein function and to engineer new protein tools with therapeutic potential. A major focus of his lab are zinc-finger proteins (ZFPs). The Noyce lab decodes how ZFPs recognize nucleic acids to build AI-guided design rules that enable programmable ZFPs for genome and epigenome applications, as well as broader gene-regulation strategies. These “designer ZFs” are being applied toward disease-relevant gene control problems, including trinucleotide repeat disorders (e.g., Huntington’s disease) and haploinsufficiency disorders (e.g., Dravet syndrome), with an emphasis on approaches that may be more flexible and potentially safer than CRISPR–Cas9 in clinical contexts.
"Binding domain mutations provide insight into CTCF’s relationship with chromatin and its contribution to gene regulation"
Do C, Jiang G, Cova G, Katsifis CC, Narducci DN, Sakellaropoulos T, Vidal R, Lhoumaud P, Tsirigos A, Regis FFD, Kakabadze N, Nora EP, Noyes M, Hansen AS, Skok JA. Cell Genom. 2025, 5, 4, 100813
"Engineered transcription-associated Cas9 targeting in eukaryotic cells"
Goldberg GW, Kogenaru M, Keegan S, Haase MAB, Kagermazova L, Arias MA, Onyebeke K, Adams S, Beyer DK, Fenyö D, Noyes MB, Boeke JD. Nat Commun. 2024, 15, 1, 10287
"Mint/X11 PDZ domains from non-bilaterian animals recognize and bind CaV2 calcium channel C-termini in vitro"
Harracksingh AN, Singh A, Mayorova TD, Bejoy B, Hornbeck J, Elkhatib W, McEdwards G, Gauberg J, Taha A, Islam IM, Erclik T, Currie MA, Noyes M, Senatore A. Sci Rep. 2024, 14, 1, 21615
"Manipulating the 3D organization of the largest synthetic yeast chromosome"
Zhang W, Lazar-Stefanita L, Yamashita H, Shen MJ, Mitchell LA, Kurasawa H, Lobzaev E, Fanfani V, Haase MAB, Sun X, Jiang Q, Goldberg GW, Ichikawa DM, Lauer SL, McCulloch LH, Easo N, Lin SJ, Camellato BR, Zhu Y, Cai J, Xu Z, Zhao Y, Sacasa M; Build-A-Genome Class; Noyes MB, Bader JS, Deutsch S, Stracquadanio G, Aizawa Y, Dai J, Boeke JD. Mol Cell. 2023, 83, 23, 4424-4437.e5
"A universal deep-learning model for zinc finger design enables transcription factor reprogramming"
Ichikawa DM, Abdin O, Alerasool N, Kogenaru M, Mueller AL, Wen H, Giganti DO, Goldberg GW, Adams S, Spencer JM, Razavi R, Nim S, Zheng H, Gionco C, Clark FT, Strokach A, Hughes TR, Lionnet T, Taipale M, Kim PM, Noyes MB. Nat Biotechnol. 2023, 41, 8, 1117-1129