We study how DNA repair pathways intersect with transcriptional regulation to safeguard genome integrity and coordinate cellular responses in health and disease.

Our research focuses on the interplay between nuclear and mitochondrial genome maintenance systems, and how their dysfunction contributes to the development of cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. We are particularly interested in how cells balance DNA repair with transcriptional activity, and how disruptions in this balance lead to genomic instability and altered cell fate.

We employ a range of physiologically relevant model systems, including dopaminergic neurons and midbrain organoids derived from human iPSCs of Parkinson’s disease patients, as well as BRCA2-deficient DLD1 cancer cell lines, to dissect these mechanisms in disease-relevant contexts.

Main themes:

• The DNA repair–transcription regulation nexus in genome stability
• Mitochondrial DNA repair and its impact on cellular function
• Cross-talk between nuclear and mitochondrial genome surveillance mechanisms
• Transcriptional juggernauts and replication machinery converge at DNA damage hotspots in cancer
• Epigenetic and transcriptional consequences of DNA repair activity
• DNA lesion mapping in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA

Model systems:

• Dopaminergic neurons derived from human iPSCs of Parkinson’s disease patients
• Midbrain organoids derived from human iPSCs of Parkinson’s disease patients
• BRCA2-deficient DLD1 colorectal cancer cell lines combined with targeted knockouts of DNA repair proteins

Contact:
Nicola Pietri Montaldo, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, PO Box 4950 Nydalen NO-0424 Oslo, Norway

Visiting address: Forskningsveien 1

E-mail: n.p.montaldo@medisin.uio.no

Contact:
Nicola Pietri Montaldo, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, PO Box 4950 Nydalen NO-0424 Oslo, Norway

Visiting address: Forskningsveien 1

E-mail: n.p.montaldo@medisin.uio.no