Nucleome Therapeutics founder Professor James Davies and Oxford University publish paper in prestigious journal Cell

• Groundbreaking research using Nucleome MCC technology reveals complex structure of DNA inside living cells at base pair resolution for the first time, pioneering a new approach to identify new drug targets from human genetics

Oxford, UK, 6 November 2025 – Nucleome Therapeutics (‘Nucleome’ or ‘the Company’), an immunology company tackling the root causes of disease through a revolutionary new approach to solving human genetics, is delighted that its founder, Professor James Davies and his team at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University have published a paper in Cell. The paper, “Mapping chromatin structure at base-pair resolution unveils a unified model of cis-regulatory element interactions” demonstrates the most detailed view yet of how DNA folds and functions inside living cells. This reveals the intricate structure of the genome which can be used to decode the regulation of gene expression at scale to identify new drug targets.   

Nucleome has an exclusive license from Oxford University to the technology known as Micro Capture-C (MCC). MCC physically identifies the contacts between regulatory elements in the non-coding genome and the genes they control. Regulatory elements are often at some distance along the chromosome sequence from their gene they regulate. The two come together in the folded 3D structure of chromatin in the cell nucleus. Nucleome has applied MCC to decipher the molecular basis of inflammatory diseases from thousands of non-coding disease-associated genetic variants in patients.

Dr. Mark Bodmer, CEO of Nucleome, commented: “Congratulations to James and his team at Oxford on this groundbreaking work. Using MCC technology, for the first time it has been possible to see 3D interactions in the nucleus inside the cell at base pair resolution. This gives us a new way of looking at how genetic variation in the human genome causes disease. At Nucleome, we are applying this transformative technology to solve the molecular basis of inflammatory diseases. This has enabled us to discover hundreds of novel drug targets and to define molecular endotypes of complex diseases based on genetic variation in patients. We are using this knowledge to buid a pipeline of therapeutics to restore health in inflammatory diseases.”