James T. Kadonaga

James T. Kadonaga is the Amylin Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at UC San Diego. His research focuses on RNA polymerase II transcriptional regulation and chromatin dynamics, with emphasis on core promoter elements (e.g., TATA box, DPE, MTE) and nucleosome/chromatin structure. Key contributions include discovering the DPE core promoter element in Drosophila, identifying the prenucleosome chromatin particle, and elucidating the role of NDF in transcription through nucleosomes.

• PhD from Harvard University (Chemistry, 1984)
• Postdoc at UC Berkeley with Robert Tjian (1984-1988)
• Joined UCSD faculty in 1988

Research interests span transcription initiation mechanisms, chromatin-mediated gene regulation, and nucleosome dynamics. Notable areas include:

• Machine learning analysis of human core promoters
• Chromatin assembly factors like ACF
• Transcription factors like TRF2 and NDF
• Applications to genome editing (HDR enhancement)

Major awards include election to the National Academy of Sciences (2022) and American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2017).

Laboratory work involves genomic approaches, biochemistry, and structural biology to study transcriptional networks and chromatin architecture.