The department is delighted to announce the hiring of Dr. Christine Cucinotta, who will join us in the 2023/24 academic year as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Cucinotta will join us from a postdoctoral position at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center where she spearheaded research into the mechanisms of genome reactivation during quiescence exit. Quiescence is a process whereby cells can exit the cell cycle and enter a reversible dormant state for long periods. This reversible quiescent state is critical for many processes, including cell survival during harsh conditions and stem cell differentiation. Her most recent work uncovered a novel role for the highly conserved SWI/SNF-family chromatin remodeling enzyme, RSC, in facilitating robust and accurate hypertranscription upon cellular exit from quiescence. She has earned awards for mentoring and outreach and is the co-founder and organizer of the Fragile Nucleosome, an international community of scientists interested in chromatin and gene regulation. The Cucinotta lab will use budding yeast and neural stem cells and will employ interdisciplinary approaches to determine how chromatin is re-activated and primed to return to a normal cell cycle after quiescence. We are excited to welcome her to the Molecular Genetics community!