William G. Dunphy

William G. Dunphy is the Grace C. Steele Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). His research focuses on cell cycle checkpoints, DNA replication, and genomic integrity. Dunphy earned an A.B. from Harvard College in 1980 and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1985. He joined Caltech as an Assistant Professor in 1989, advancing to full Professor in 2001 and assuming his current named chair in 2008. His work integrates studies in human tissue culture cells and Xenopus egg extracts to investigate mechanisms underlying DNA replication fidelity, checkpoint activation, and mitotic regulation.

Research Interests:

• Cell cycle regulation and checkpoint pathways (ATR/Chk1 signaling)
• Mechanisms of DNA replication initiation (Treslin-MTBP complex)
• Role of TopBP1 in ATR activation
• Genomic stability maintenance

Key Contributions:

• Discovered TopBP1's role as an ATR activator
• Identified Claspin as a mediator in checkpoint signaling
• Characterized Treslin-MTBP's essential role in replication origin licensing
• Developed CUT&RUN chromatin mapping techniques

Advising & Grants:

No formal student advisee list provided. His lab focuses on collaborative projects involving genomic stability mechanisms, funded by Caltech institutional resources and NIH grants (not explicitly listed).

Labs/Teams:

Leads the Dunphy Lab at Caltech, specializing in cell cycle biology and DNA replication studies using advanced biochemical and genomic approaches.