Metabolites of Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) carcinogens 

Metabolites of estrogen derivatives 

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species found in cells

These reactive species react with the DNA bases by forming (a) chemical adducts , or (b) causing oxidative DNA damage

The mechanisms of modification of the DNA by reactive chemical species

The structure and properties of the damaged DNA and how it affects the processing of these lesions by cellular enzymes 

DNA repair enzymes -  how nucleotide excision repair and other enzymes repair the damaged DNA Mutations associated with translesion DNA synthesis by the novel bypass polymerases

Synthesis and characterization

of site-specifically modified DNA sequences (oligonucleotides)

Chemistry

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), NMR, circular dichroism, mass spectrometry, fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy, thermodynamics

Biochemistry

Gel electrophoresis, radioactive isotope labeling, enzymatics

Laser Photochemistry and Photophysics (Free Radical Chemistry) 

Laser Laboratory headed by Research Professor V. Shafirovich