Kerry Bloom

About

Professor Kerry Bloom leads the Bloom Lab, which is dedicated to uncovering the fundamental biophysical and molecular principles governing genome organization, chromosomal mechanics, and nuclear architecture. The lab emphasizes understanding how mechanical forces, structural transitions, and spatial organization contribute to genome stability and cellular function. Their research focuses on centromere biology and chromosome fragility, particularly under mechanical stress and genomic perturbation, as well as kinetochore and spindle mechanics, exploring how force and chromatin structure contribute to chromosome segregation. Additionally, the lab investigates pericentromeric and nucleolar compartmentalization, including the role of DNA-protein and RNA-mediated phase separation, and the polymer physics of chromatin, studying how transient crosslinking and chromatin network properties drive nuclear organization and condensate formation. These studies integrate live-cell imaging, molecular genetics, and statistical physics modeling to reveal chromatin as a responsive and mechanically active material in space and time. Professor Bloom's research redefines genome regulation as a dynamic physical system responsive to force, topology, and emergent material properties rather than merely a biochemical code. Insights from the lab explain how cells maintain genomic stability under stress, why certain genome regions such as centromeres and rDNA are hotspots for fragility and repair, and…

Research topics

• Genetics
• Cell biology
• Biology
• Molecular biology
• Biophysics
• Computational biology

Selected publications

• The rDNA is biomolecular condensate formed by polymer–polymer phase separation and is sequestered in the nucleolus by transcription and R-loops

  Nucleic Acids Research · 2021 · 46 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The nucleolus is the site of ribosome biosynthesis encompassing the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus in a phase separated state within the nucleus. In budding yeast, we find the rDNA locus and Cdc14, a protein phosphatase that co-localizes with the rDNA, behave like a condensate formed by polymer-polymer phase separation, while ribonucleoproteins behave like a condensate formed by liquid-liquid phase separation. The compaction of the rDNA and Cdc14's nucleolar distribution are dependent on the concent…

  DOI

• R-loops at centromeric chromatin contribute to defects in kinetochore integrity and chromosomal instability in budding yeast

  Molecular Biology of the Cell · 2020 · 45 citations

  contributes to defects in kinetochore integrity and CIN.

  DOI

• Shaping centromeres to resist mitotic spindle forces

  Journal of Cell Science · 2022 · 38 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The centromere serves as the binding site for the kinetochore and is essential for the faithful segregation of chromosomes throughout cell division. The point centromere in yeast is encoded by a ∼115 bp specific DNA sequence, whereas regional centromeres range from 6-10 kbp in fission yeast to 5-10 Mbp in humans. Understanding the physical structure of centromere chromatin (pericentromere in yeast), defined as the chromatin between sister kinetochores, will provide fundamental insights into how…

  DOI

• Statistical mechanics of chromosomes:<i>in vivo</i>and<i>in silico</i>approaches reveal high-level organization and structure arise exclusively through mechanical feedback between loop extruders and chromatin substrate properties

  Nucleic Acids Research · 2020 · 20 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The revolution in understanding higher order chromosome dynamics and organization derives from treating the chromosome as a chain polymer and adapting appropriate polymer-based physical principles. Using basic principles, such as entropic fluctuations and timescales of relaxation of Rouse polymer chains, one can recapitulate the dominant features of chromatin motion observed in vivo. An emerging challenge is to relate the mechanical properties of chromatin to more nuanced organizational principl…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Centromeres are stress-induced fragile sites

  Current Biology · 2025-02-18 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Biomechanics of Chromosome Structure and Dynamics In Living Cells

  NSF · $403k · 2005–2009

• MECHANISMS OF MITOTIC SPINDLE ASSEMBLY AND FUNCTION

  NIH · $6.6M · 1978–2020

• Structure and Function of a Eukaryotic Centromere

  NIH · $5.2M · 1983–2022

Frequent coauthors

• Elaine Yeh

  71 shared

• Edward D. Salmon

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  41 shared

• Julian Haase

  40 shared

• Josh Lawrimore

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  36 shared

• Paul S. Maddox

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  34 shared

• M. Gregory Forest

  Applied Physical Sciences (United States)

  30 shared

• Andrew D. Stephens

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  24 shared

• Paula A. Vasquez

  University of South Carolina

  24 shared

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Biology

  University of California Santa Barbara

  1982

• Ph.D., Biology

  Purdue University

  1980

• B.S., Molecular Biology

  Tulane University

  1975

Similar researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Ian Davish-84
• Dirk Dittmerh-66
• Charles Carterh-55