Bret Freudenthal
@freudlab
Professor studying the interplay between DNA damage and human health. WY➡️CSU➡️UI➡️NIEHS➡️KU. Personal posts from science to society.
After the World Cup left KC, we squeezed in a few trips to close out the summer. Cape May, Wyoming mountains, and wake surfing in Utah/FoCo. The boys start school tomorrow, so this was the last hurrah.
5/ MUTYH needs to engage both strands with its N- and C-terminal domains. Modeling shows it cannot do that in an NCP without clashing into the histones. Steric exclusion, not altered lesion presentation, is the barrier.
4/ MD simulations from the Bignon lab agree: the same two-state conformational exchange and the same local backbone perturbations in nucleosomal and non-nucleosomal DNA.
3/ Why? Not because the lesion looks different. Our group solved Cryo-EM structures at SHL+2, +3, +4, and -6 all show 8oxoG in the syn conformation, Hoogsteen paired with A, matching non-nucleosomal DNA.
2/ The Delaney lab used globally substituted NCPs covering 34 unique 8oxoG:A positions, MUTYH excised A from essentially every site in duplex DNA but from only two sites in the nucleosome, both at SHL-6.5 in the entry/exit region (thanks David lab as well).
1/ Latest publication from the Freudenthal lab in Biomolecules: 8oxoG:A base pairs are structurally accommodated in the nucleosome, yet effectively invisible to MUTYH. doi.org/10.3390/biom...
Bucket list checked. Arrowhead was fully taken over by Argentina last night and the passion was unreal. We took the boys to watch them beat Algeria 3-0, capped by the first world cup hat trick for Messi. Started at KC FanFest, ended watching history. One we’ll never forget. 🇦🇷⚽️
Huge thanks also to the team that made this video and captured the lab so well, the colleagues and collaborators who shaped how I do science, and the KU Cancer Center and KUMC for building a place that values people and mentorship. @kucancercenter.bsky.social @universityofkansas.bsky.social
And none of it happens without my co-organizer Ryan Barnes and members of the Freudenthal and Barnes labs who kept everything running smoothly. Couldn't have done it without you. Thank you also to our 14 sponsors for making it all possible, particularly the NIEHS and KUCC.
Our keynote speakers gave inspiring talks, and the trainees absolutely hit it out of the park. We were proud to hand out 17 trainee awards (nearly $8,000 in travel/awards).
That's a wrap on the 25th Annual Midwest DNA Repair Symposium at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Two days, 175 attendees, 4 keynotes, 22 talks, and 85 posters of genuinely incredible science (also some fun socializing of course). I am still smiling, but a bit tired. 🧬🌻
A season of change in the lab. 🎓 Hooding ceremony for Spencer Thompson who is headed back to the clinic. 🧬 Zach Onyszchuk joins the lab as a graduate student 🔬 Nicholas @nicholaswashton.bsky.social joins the lab as Senior Scientist Excited for what's ahead!!
Action packed Mother’s Day weekend celebrating Jean, cheering on Pierce at his big improv show and watching Grayson’s team bring home tournament gold. This is what great moms do, even on the weekends meant to celebrate them. Grateful for you, Jean. ❤️
Big congrats to Spencer Thompson on defending his thesis today! Beautiful @lumicks.bsky.social C-Trap single-molecule work and a major MD/PhD milestone. Proud PI! BioRxiv coming soon.
Great way to wrap up the ski season at Steamboat over spring break last week on a wonderful trip with family and friends. The boys definitely leveled up and are now hitting black diamonds! ⛷️
Great seminar visit to UC Riverside hosted by Linlin Zhao. Excellent discussions with a terrific group of trainees and scientists exploring a wide range of exciting science. Thanks to Linlin for the warm hospitality!
Great first Fusion meeting! 🧬 Presented our telomere/ribonucleotide work. Huge congrats to Abbey Vito for winning Best Poster and Most Engaged 🏆👏 Always great catching up with friends in the field. And the weather didn’t hurt ☀️
Wonderful few days skiing in New Mexico. Every trip the boys get stronger, more controlled, and confident. It is fun to watch the progression in real time. Some fresh snow helped too!
📣 The 2026 Midwest DNA Repair Symposium is coming to Kansas City (registration is open) 🗓 May 30–31, 2026 ✨ Talks will be selected from abstracts, with a strong focus on trainees and new investigators. Please RT & share with your labs! 🔗 sites.google.com/view/kumc-mi...
Fun filled weekend in San Diego and LA! Really nice to escape the cold and catch up with Mark and Amiel.
Grateful to host Sen. Moran and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharyya in the lab today. Proud of our trainees, who showcased their work using the @lumicks.bsky.social C-Trap and the KU Cryo-EM Facility. Their dedication shows how federal investment drives cancer research at @kucancercenter.bsky.social.
🎃 Happy Halloween from the Freudenthal Lab! 🐟🖤 Anglerfish PI + Emo Researchers = Bioluminescent Despair #Scienceunderpressure
One of my favorite activities of the year is our annual pumpkin carving competition with the Bose Lab. Everyone’s pumpkins were amazing!
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains outside Santa Fe were beautiful today! Wonderful day for a hike.
How it started: Assistant to the Professor 👨🔬✨ How it’s going: Professor mode unlocked 👨🏫 Also clear evidence that science doesn’t just build knowledge… it ages ya too. 😉 🙏Grateful to all the mentors, colleagues, trainees, friends & family who made this journey possible. I am here because you all!
Great catching up with Matt during his visit with @barneslab.bsky.social!
The summer just flew by this year and today is the first day of 5th grade for these two. Go get em boys. 🥹
Spencer Thompson gave a great talk at the @kucancercenter.bsky.social Cancer Biology symposium this past week. He has really got this talk looking clean and sounding clear. #proudPI @lumicks.bsky.social