University of Pittsburgh

Kara A. Bernstein, PhD

Associate Professor: Pharmacology and Chemical Biology





	
	


			

		Dr. Bernstein	
		

		

	
Contact

    		

		karab@pitt.edu	
		

		
			

		412-864-7742	
		

		
	
	
			

		Fax: 
		412-623-1010	
		

	    

    
    
   
    
   
    
    		

		
2.42e University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
5117 Centre Avenue
	
		

	    
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
    
	
	
	
			

		Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1862	
		

		
		
	



	
Education
	
	

	
PhD in Genetics, Yale University
        

              
   
  
 
 	
Research Summary
	
	

	



Repair of DNA damage is crucial to prevent accumulation of mutations that can cause genomic instability, aging, and cancer.  Our lab studies how double-strand breaks in the DNA, one of the most lethal types of DNA lesions, are repaired.  By understanding the mechanism of double-strand break repair and the role of DNA repair proteins in this process, we will uncover mechanisms of tumorigenesis and cancer progression.  We will then use this knowledge to aid in diagnosis/prognosis of different types of cancers to find novel therapeutic targets for these patients.
Dr. Bernstein conducts her research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. 
Click here for a full listing of publications
	
	




  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
 
 
   
   
















        





















	
Publications
	
	

	
Kondrashova O, Nguyen M, Shield-Artin K, Tinker AV, Teng N, Harrell MI, Kuiper MJ, Ho GY, Barker H, Jasin M, Prakash R, Kass EM, Sullivan MR, Brunette GJ, Bernstein KA, Coleman RL, Floquet A, Friedlander M, Kichenadasse G, O'Malley DM, Oza A, Sun J, Robillard L, Maloney L, AOCS Study Group, Giordano H, Wakefield MJ, Kaufmann SH, Simmons AD, Harding TC, Raponi M, McNeish IA, Swisher EM, Lin KK and Scott CL. 2017. Secondary Somatic Mutations Restoring RAD51C and RAD51D Associated with Acquired Resistance to the PARP Inhibitor Rucaparib in High-Grade Ovarian Carcinoma. Cancer Discov. 7: 984-998. |  View Abstract
Kong M, Liu L, Chen X, Driscoll KL, Mao P, Böhm S, Kad NM, Watkins S, Bernstein KA, Wyrick JJ, Min JH and Van Houten B. 2016. Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals that Rad4 Employs a Dynamic DNA Damage Recognition Process. 64: 376-387. |  View Abstract
Godin SK, Zhang Z, Herken BW, Westmoreland JW, Lee AG, Mihalevic MJ, Yu Z, Sobol RW, Resnick MA and Bernstein KA. 2016. The Shu complex promotes error-free tolerance of alkylation-induced base excision repair products. Nucleic Acids Res. 44: 8199-8215. |  View Abstract
Gaines WA, Godin SK, Kabbinavar FF, Rao T, VanDemark AP, Sung P and Bernstein KA. 2015. Promotion of presynaptic filament assembly by the ensemble of S. cerevisiae Rad51 paralogues with Rad52. Nat Commun. 28: 7834. |  View Abstract
Godin SK, Meslin C, Kabbinavar F, Bratton-Palmer DS, Hornack C, Mihalevic M, Yoshida K, Sullivan M, Clark NL and Bernstein KA. 2015. Evolutionary and functional analysis of the invariant SWIM domain in the conserved Shu2/SWS1 protein family from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Homo sapiens. Genetics. 199: 1023-1033. |  View Abstract