Dr Ahel’s lab employs a combination of structural studies, cell biology, and animal models to study cellular responses to DNA damage. In particular, their area of focus is on regulation of proteins involved in DNA repair and genome stability by ADP-ribosylation, a post-translational protein modification catalyzed by a family of enzymes called poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs). PARPs have been linked to a number of cellular pathways including DNA repair, modulation of chromatin structure, apoptosis, and transcription