Dale Wigley

Professor Dale Wigley holds the Chair in Protein Crystallography at Imperial College London's Department of Infectious Disease (Faculty of Medicine). His research focuses on DNA repair mechanisms, chromatin remodeling, and antibiotic resistance. He leads the Structural Biology Section, investigating bacterial DNA repair processes and human chromatin dynamics via nucleosome manipulation by INO80 and SWR1 complexes.

Educational Background:

• BSc (Hons) Biochemistry, University of York (1985)
• PhD Biochemistry, University of Bristol (1988)

Research Interests:

• Bacterial DNA Repair: Studies how bacteria repair double-strand breaks, with implications for antibiotic resistance and human cancer.
• Chromatin Remodeling: Explores nucleosome packaging and access mechanisms via INO80/INO80 complexes, focusing on histone exchange and epigenetic regulation.
• Protein Complex Structures: Uses crystallography and cryo-EM to study functional complexes like CtIP, RecBCD, and CRISPR-Cas systems.

Key Research Trends: Recent work highlights nucleosome dynamics (SWR1-mediated histone exchange) and DNA repair pathways in bacteria/humans. Structural studies of RecBCD, CtIP, and INO80 complexes reveal mechanisms for DNA damage response and epigenetic regulation.

Labs/Teams: Heads the Structural Biology Section, collaborating with the Centre for Structural Biology and Electron Microscopy Centre. Research integrates structural biology, biochemistry, and molecular genetics to bridge basic science and clinical applications.