The impact of tfiid on the transcription initiation machinery – a structural perspective.
Transcription is a first step of gene expression, a process by which a functional gene product is synthesized based on genetic information from DNA. Gene expression is tightly regulated with complex mechanisms that give cells the flexibility to adapt to a variable environment. Defects in regulation and transcription mechanisms leads to serious pathologies in cells and organisms, that in humans includes cancer development, autoimmunity and neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases etc. 
Structural studies of transcription in the last two decades, brought priceless insight into the mechanisms involved in the process, especially concerning transcription initiation. The next step in understanding gene expression is to combine knowledge about gene regulation with the mechanisms of transcription initiation. I will investigate the molecular basis of gene regulation and transcription initiation interplay using strategy that combine state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy, chemical cross-linking, mass-spectrometry and biochemical assays.