Our INCITE Award was competitively renewed for 2026 by the DOE Office of Science. Open to researchers from academia, government laboratories, and industry, the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program is the major means by which the scientific community gains access to the world’s fastest supercomputers. The program aims to accelerate scientific discoveries and technological innovations by awarding, on a competitive basis, time on supercomputers to researchers with large-scale, computationally intensive projects that address “grand challenges” in science and engineering.

Our research team will continue to combine cryo-electron microscopy data and state-of-the-art computation on the OLCF Frontier supercomputer to elucidate the mechanisms controlling gene expression. Specific focus for next year will be on nucleotide excision repair (NER) – the most versatile pathway for eliminating lesions in genomic DNA caused by exposure to environmental carcinogens. Defining the molecular mechanisms of NER and the impact of disease-associated mutations in the vital NER complexes will provide a foundational understanding of severe human genetic disorders, including xeroderma pigmentosum, trichothiodystrophy, and Cockayne syndrome. The insights gained will illuminate how environmental and genetic factors contribute to cancer, aging, and developmental defects, ultimately informing new strategies for treatment and prevention.