Current Research

GENE REGULATION BY NUCLEAR RNAS AND CHROMATIN

RESEARCH – Our lab seeks to understand how gene expression is controlled within the nucleus. Of particular interest are multifunctional RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that act at the interface of long regulatory RNAs and chromatin. They are fascinating because they can regulate gene expression at both co- and post-transcriptional levels. Importantly, many of these factors are involved in normal and cancer development. How these RBPs “decide” which function(s) to perform at any given gene locus is unclear. We want to investigate how they regulate the licensing, partitioning, and coordination of various nuclear gene regulatory programs. To this end, we aim to train the next generation of scientists to leverage tools from genetics, genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and systems biology. We study these processes in the model fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and human cancer cells because they share many highly conserved gene regulatory factors. Our ultimate goal is to discover conserved gene regulatory mechanisms to help improve human health and treat diseases. Specific research areas our lab is interested in include:

1. Gene regulatory networks
2. Mechanisms of RBP-gene targeting and functions
3. Roles of RBPs in stress response