Yale University · Microbiology & ImmunologySchatz Lab
David G. Schatz · New Haven, Connecticut
Research Focus
Dr. David Schatz's lab at Yale University studies how certain enzymes, specifically the RAG proteins, shape the immune system by cutting and rearranging DNA. These processes are essential for developing antibodies but can occasionally lead to mistakes that may result in blood cancers. The lab combines modern techniques in biochemistry, structural biology, and genetics to explore the intricate mechanisms of V(D)J recombination and somatic hypermutation in human cells.
RAG proteinsV(D)J recombinationsomatic hypermutationimmune systemgenome instabilityDNA interactionscancer biologycellular mechanisms
Research Aims
4AIM 01Explore the evolutionary origins and mechanisms of the RAG endonuclease.
AIM 02Investigate how RAG2 regulates transposition and prevents genomic instability.
AIM 03Characterize the components and regulatory functions of recombination centers in immune cells.
AIM 04Map the interactions between the RAG complex and chromatin to understand its function in DNA rearrangement.
Skills the Lab Values
protein biochemistrycryogenic electron microscopyDNA cloninggenomic assayscell culturemolecular geneticsfluorescence microscopyprotein purificationquantitative proteomics
Output against the department
Publications324top 14% of dept.69th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations22ktop 17% of dept.84th of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.