Studies in collaboration with the lab of Charles Danko are focused on the mechanisms of gene regulation throughout spermatogenesis. This work takes advantage of the unique gene regulatory environment posed by the mammalian germ cell in which discrete transitions from one stage to the next require exquisite changes in gene regulation. In a grant that is currently pending, we will explore the transcriptional regulation during meiosis and spermiogenesis that ensures the timely expression of meiotic and spermatid differentiation gene, collectively ensuring the packaging and differentiation of spermatozoa for sexual reproduction.