Alexandra BerroyerView profile
Assistant Professor
Alexandra Berroyer serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas. Her research program investigates the biological roles of non-canonical DNA structures, particularly G-quadruplexes (G4s), and their implications for genomic instability and cancer pathogenesis using human cell cultures and yeast models. Her academic credentials include: Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston M.S. in Biotechnology from Illinois State University B.S. in Biology from Millikin University Following her doctoral work, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Berroyer's research centers on G-quadruplex DNA structures—four-stranded configurations formed in guanine-rich genomic regions. She examines how regulated G4 formation controls gene expression versus dysregulated G4s that cause DNA replication stress and genomic instability, ultimately driving carcinogenesis. Her laboratory employs molecular, genetic, and biochemical approaches to dissect interactions between G4 structures and DNA repair machinery, with particular focus on topoisomerases, nucleolin, and AP endonucleases. Analysis of her 2015-2022 publications reveals dominant themes in G-quadruplex biology across molecular genetics and cancer research. Key trends include structural characterization of G4-forming genomic regions, mechanistic studies of repair enzyme dysfunction at G4 sites, and exploration of metabolic influences on DNA repair. Her work bridges fundamental genome maintenance mechanisms with disease pathogenesis, featuring one interdisciplinary study in entomological behavior. Dr. Berroyer actively mentors undergraduate researchers, as evidenced by co-authorship patterns in her publications. Her laboratory operations are supported by institutional resources at St. Mary's University, with collaborative networks extending to Harvard and University of Texas researchers. Current projects investigate how DNA repair factors regulate cellular G4 homeostasis and the consequences of G4 dysregulation for genome integrity. Her research laboratory specializes in DNA structure-function analysis, utilizing yeast genetics and human cell models to probe G-quadruplex dynamics. The team employs chromatin immunoprecipitation, fluorescence microscopy, and in vitro reconstitution assays to characterize protein-G4 interactions and their impact on replication fidelity. Future work aims to translate mechanistic insights into therapeutic strategies for G4-associated cancers.
