Epigenetics is the science that studies how genes within cells sense and respond to their environment.  The Rasmussen Laboratory investigates several areas of epigenetics including how genes are regulated during the course of cellular differentiation (A) and by the action of long non-coding RNA (B).  We also are interested in epigenetic mechanisms that participate in reprogramming by iPS (see stem cell section).  Also, we are studying epigenetic causes of human disease and developing therapeutics based on the epigenetic modulation of genes involved in human metabolism and neurobiology.