Alicia K. Byrd

High Impact

Assistant Professor

UAMS

Also affiliated: Pennsylvania State University (2002); Vanderbilt University (2002); University of Arkansas Medical Center (2022–2024); Jacksonville University (2015); Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (2020–2025); Arkansas Department of Agriculture (2014)

Faculty Researcher

27 h-index 57 pubs 1,948 cited

Research Areas

Biomedical Subjects

Links

ORCID Research Group UAMS TRI Profile

OverviewAI-generated summary

Alicia K. Byrd's research focuses on the function and regulation of DNA helicases, particularly the Pif1 family, at replication forks and in the context of G-quadruplex structures. Her work investigates how these enzymes interact with DNA and viral proteins, impacting processes such as DNA unwinding and the remodeling of protein-nucleic acid complexes. She has published on the role of Pif1 helicase in processes involving Sub1 and Cdc13, and on the interaction between bacteriophage T4 DNA processing proteins gp32 and Dda.

Further research by Byrd explores the role of G-quadruplexes in biological processes, including their influence on helicase activity and liquid-liquid phase separation. Her work also extends to the Hepatitis C virus, examining how its nonstructural protein NS3 interacts with viral G-quadruplex RNA. Byrd also investigates methodological aspects of molecular biology techniques, such as the impact of untargeted CUT&Tag reads on G-quadruplex identification. Her scholarship metrics include an h-index of 27, 1,925 total citations across 57 publications, and she is recognized as a highly cited researcher. She leads a research group and collaborates with researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Metrics

h-index: 27
Publications: 57
Citations: 1,948

Selected Publications

Response to the commentary by Melidis et al. on “Untargeted CUT&Tag reads are enriched at accessible chromatin and restrict identification of potential G4-forming sequences in G4-targeted CUT&Tag experiments” (2025)

Nucleic Acids Research DOI OpenAlex
Untargeted CUT&Tag reads are enriched at accessible chromatin and restrict identification of potential G4-forming sequences in G4-targeted CUT&Tag experiments (2025)

Nucleic Acids Research 8 citations DOI OpenAlex
Rare SNP in the HELB gene interferes with RPA interaction and cellular function of HELB (2025)

NAR Molecular Medicine DOI OpenAlex
Structural and functional insights into the interaction between the bacteriophage T4 DNA processing proteins gp32 and Dda (2024)

Nucleic Acids Research 10 citations DOI OpenAlex
Untargeted CUT&Tag and BG4 CUT&Tag are both enriched at G-quadruplexes and accessible chromatin (2024)

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
Eukaryotic Pif1 helicase unwinds G-quadruplex and dsDNA using a conserved wedge (2024)

Nature Communications 9 citations DOI OpenAlex
Two residues in the DNA binding site of Pif1 helicase are essential for nuclear functions but dispensable for mitochondrial respiratory growth (2024)

Nucleic Acids Research 2 citations DOI OpenAlex
Rare SNP in the HELB gene interferes with RPA interaction and cellular function of HELB (2024)

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) DOI OpenAlex
Pif1 Helicase Mediates Remodeling of Protein-Nucleic Acid Complexes by Promoting Dissociation of Sub1 from G-Quadruplex DNA and Cdc13 from G-Rich Single-Stranded DNA (2023)

Biochemistry 9 citations DOI OpenAlex
Hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein NS3 unfolds viral G-quadruplex RNA structures (2022)

Journal of Biological Chemistry 11 citations DOI OpenAlex
Alignment of helicases on single-stranded DNA increases activity (2022)

Methods in enzymology on CD-ROM/Methods in enzymology 2 citations DOI OpenAlex
Role and Regulation of Pif1 Family Helicases at the Replication Fork (2022)

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 14 citations DOI OpenAlex
Monitoring helicase-catalyzed unwinding of multiple duplexes simultaneously (2022)

Methods in enzymology on CD-ROM/Methods in enzymology DOI OpenAlex
A structural feature of Dda helicase which enhances displacement of streptavidin and trp repressor from <scp>DNA</scp> (2021)

Protein Science 8 citations DOI OpenAlex
G-quadruplex DNA inhibits unwinding activity but promotes liquid–liquid phase separation by the DEAD-box helicase Ded1p (2021)

Chemical Communications 12 citations DOI OpenAlex

View all publications on OpenAlex →

Grants & Funding

As listed on this researcher's institutional profile.

Role of HELB in the Replication Stress Response NIH/NIGMS
The effect of rs75770066, a stroke associated single nucleotide polymorphism, on enzyme activity UAMS Internal Research Awards
Seeds of Science Pilot award UAMS Internal Research Awards
DNA Helicases: Mechanism and Function NIH
Functions and Mechanisms of Helicases and G-Quadruplex Nucleic Acids NIH
The Role of DNA Helicase B in Response to DNA Replication Stress UAMS Internal Research Awards
Measurement of Helicase Diffusion and Cooperativity at the Single Molecule Level Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Identification of synthetic lethal targets for treating breast cancer Arkansas Breast Cancer Research Program