Chris Brackley

The spatial organisation of the genome within cells or the cell nucleus plays an important role in gene regulation and genome function. Many of the processes which control this organisation involve physical mechanisms, and concepts and tools from soft matter and statistical physics can be used to better understand them. In our group we use computer simulations to study different processes involving the genome which operate at different length scales. We work closely with colleagues in the lab, looking at this fascinating area of biology through the lens of physics. Key topics of interest are the link between chromosome structure and gene regulation, formation and positioning of biological condensates associated with the genome, and the role of genome organisation in cancer.

[2025] Bridging-Induced Phase Separation and Loop Extrusion Drive Noise in Chromatin Transcription [2025] Different factors control long-term versus short-term outcomes for bacterial colonisation of a urinary catheter [2024] Genome-wide chromosome architecture prediction reveals biophysical principles underlying gene structure [2024] Evolutionarily conserved enhancer-associated features within the MYEOV locus suggest a regulatory role for this non-coding DNA region in cancer [2024] Vertebrate centromeres in mitosis are functionally bipartite structures stabilized by cohesin