Sarah Hainer

Sarah Hainer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and a Member of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, having opened her lab in 2018.

Dr. Hainer's research interests are in the fundamental regulation of cell fate, specifically focusing on the role of transcription and chromatin dynamics. The long-term goals of Dr. Hainer's research are to comprehensively understand the functions, targets, regulation, and mechanisms of action of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and chromatin regulatory factors with critical functions in the embryonic stem (ES) cell gene regulatory network, through development, and in disease states. Active research areas in Dr. Hainer's laboratory include: identifying chromatin remodelers that regulate ncRNA expression; determining the function of two uncharacterized classes of ncRNAs in ES cells; characterizing molecular changes occurring in cancer cell lines with chromatin remodeler mutations; optimizing and expanding the utilization of a novel technique for profiling chromatin binding proteins, CUT&RUN. Enabling these studies, Dr. Hainer's research spans the disciplines of genomics, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics.