Paul E. Boehmer, PhD

Interim Department Head and Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences - The University of Arizona College of Medicine—Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University

UA Office Phone: (602) 827-2104
Office: Building ABC1, Room 325
Email: boehmer@email.arizona.edu

Education:

Post-doctoral; Stanford University, CA; 1990 - 1994

PhD; University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; 1990

B.Sc. (Hons) Biochemistry; University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; 1986

Background:

Curricular Activities:
Block Director for Molecular Basis of Life and Disease (first year block) and Infectious Diseases (second year block). I am responsible for the design and implementation of these block. In addition, I will be teaching biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular genetics and virology.

Director of Research for the Scholarly Project. In this capacity I oversee the research aspects of the medical students scholarly projects including approval of projects and mentors as well as regulatory compliance.

Professional Associations:
Member, Journal of Biological Chemistry Editorial Board, July 2003 - October 2008 Member, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1996 - present

Research Interests:

We are interested in the basic mechanisms that underlie the fundamental processes of DNA replication and recombination. Our research employs Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1) as a model system. HSV-1 provides a “simple” and self-contained system in as much as it encodes its own DNA replication machinery (DNA polymerase, processivity factor, helicase-primase, single-strand DNA-binding protein and initiator protein). In addition, the HSV-1 genome contains defined origins of replication that allows us to study origin-specific initiation of DNA replication.

HSV-1 is one of eight human herpesviruses that are know to cause diverse diseases ranging from cold sores and chicken pox to mononucleosis and even cancer. The high incidence of herpesviruses in the human population and the increased susceptibility of immuno-compromised individuals to these viruses make them a very important public health problem. HSV-1 in particular is the cause of oro-labial lesions as well as more serious encephalitis and a leading cause of corneal blindness. Our studies will provide novel insight into the replication of this medically important and biologically fascinating class of virus. They will also increase our overall knowledge of fundamental mechanisms in DNA replication and recombination.

This research is supported by a Research Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01- GM062643).

Specifically, we are interested in the following:

1. What are the factors required to achieve coordinated and concurrent leading and lagging strand synthesis at the viral replication fork?

2. What is the mechanism of recombination-dependent DNA replication and what role does it perform in the viral life cycle?

3. What is the mechanism whereby molecular chaperones stimulate the initiation of DNA replication and what role do they perform in viral replication in vivo?

4. What is the mechanism whereby the viral single-strand DNA binding protein stimulates the initiator protein (UL9) and how does replication initiate at viral origins?

PubMed Link:

Search PubMed for a complete listing of Dr. Boehmer's publications

Selected Publications:

  1. Bogani, F., and Boehmer, P.E. The replicative DNA polymerase of Herpes Simplex Virus-1 exhibits AP and 5'-deoxyribose phosphate lyase activities Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (2008) 105, 11709-11714.
  2. Nimonkar, A., Tanguy Le Gac, N., Villani, G., and Boehmer, P.E. Escherichia colI RecA promotes strand invasion with cisplatin-damaged DNA. Biochimie (2006) 88, 535-542.
  3. Boehmer, P.E. RNA binding and R-loop formation by the Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 single-strand DNA-binding protein (ICP8). Nucleic Acids Res. (2004) 32, 4576-4584.
  4. Nimonkar, A., and Boehmer, P.E. On The Role Of Protein-Protein Interactions During Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Recombination Dependent Replication. J. Biol. Chem. (2004) 279, 21957-21965.
  5. Arana, M.E., Song, L., Tanguy Le Gac, N., Parris, D.S., Villani, G., and Boehmer, P.E. On the role of proofreading exonuclease in bypass of a bulky 1,2 d(GpG) cisplatin adduct by the herpes simplex virus-1 DNA polymerase. DNA Repair (2004) 3, 659-669.
  6. Boehmer, P.E., and Villani, G. Herpes simplex virus type-1: a model for genome transactions. Prog. Nucleic Acid Res. Mol. Biol. (2003) 75, 139-171.
  7. Nimonkar, A., and Boehmer, P.E. Reconstitution of Recombination-dependent DNA Synthesis in Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (2003) 100, 10201-10206.
  8. Nimonkar, A., and Boehmer, P.E. The Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Single-Strand DNA-Binding Protein (ICP8) Promotes Strand Invasion. J. Biol. Chem. (2003) 278, 9678-9682.
  9. Villani, G., Tanguy Le Gac, N., Wasangu, L., Burnouf, D., Fuchs, R.P., and Boehmer, P.E. Effect of manganese on in vitro replication of damaged DNA catalyzed by the herpes simplex virus type-1 DNA polymerase. Nucleic Acids Res. (2002) 30, 3323-3332.
  10. Tanguy Le Gac, N., and Boehmer, P.E. Activation of the Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Origin Binding Protein (UL9) by Heat Shock Proteins. J. Biol. Chem. (2002) 277, 5660-5666.