THE TRUSTEES OF MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE
DNA damage, repair (or the lack of repair), and mutation are often critical events in the
processes of aging and carcinogenesis. Thus we must understand how damage to the DNA is
detected and repaired in order to meaningfully assess the long-term effects of
environmental contaminants, bioactive plant products, drug treatments, and other
exogenous agents on the genome. In this project we examine the effects of small lesions
on the structure and dynamics of DNA using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.