Paul Hurd's Biography

Paul Hurd, Principle Investigator, Queen Mary University Of London

Paul Hurd has long-standing interests in the mechanistic aspects of epigenetic systems. During his Ph.D. studies with Professor David Hornby at the University of Sheffield, he characterized the mechanism of inhibition of DNA methyltransferases by a novel nucleotide analogue. After this, he moved to the University of Cambridge to work with Professor Tony Kouzarides at the Gurdon Institute where he initially focused on the mechanisms by which DNA methylation is coupled to alterations in chromatin structure through the post-translational modification of histones. During this time it became increasingly evident that the post-translational modification of histones plays a central role in establishing, regulating and orchestrating DNA based processes. Moreover, the sheer variety and complexity of histone modifications, in addition to their dynamic nature, persuaded him to begin characterising novel histone modifications in the hope of elucidating biological function. This subsequently led to the application of next-generation DNA sequencing in order to analyze the epigenomes of a variety of organisms.
He is currently a Principal Investigator at Queen Mary, University of London, UK.