Cyrus Vaziri

Cyrus Vaziri serves as a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. His laboratory investigates fundamental mechanisms of DNA replication and repair, with direct implications for understanding genomic instability in cancer and developing novel therapeutic strategies targeting DNA synthesis pathways.

Research in the Vaziri Lab centers on three critical areas: S-phase checkpoint control, Trans-Lesion Synthesis (TLS), and re-replication phenomena. The lab employs an integrated approach combining biochemistry, molecular/cellular biology, genetics, and computational methods to dissect how mammalian cells maintain genomic fidelity during normal cell cycles and under genotoxic stress. Key interests include:

• Mechanisms of DNA polymerase regulation during replication
• Checkpoint signaling cascades in response to DNA damage
• Mutagenic bypass pathways in cancer development
• Therapeutic vulnerabilities in replication-stressed tumors
• Chemotherapy resistance mechanisms linked to replication errors

The lab maintains strong affiliations with UNC's Pathobiology & Translational Sciences Program, Curriculum in Toxicology, Genetics and Molecular Biology (GMB) Program, and Biochemistry & Biophysics Program. It actively recruits Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP) students for rotations and collaborates across multiple graduate training initiatives focused on cancer biology and genome maintenance.