The malignant properties of cancer cells have their origins not only in DNA mutations and other forms of genetic damage but also in epigenetic changes. These epigenetic changes are heritable through cell division but are not directly coded in the DNA. Instead, they are coded within chromatin, through DNA methylation, non-canonical histone variants, histone modifications, histone binding proteins and higher order patterns of chromatin folding. Groups in the Epigenetics Unit are interested in basic mechanisms of chromatin regulation, epigenetic inheritance and how epigenetic dysfunction contributes to cancer and response to cancer therapies.