Research

Research Interests

During differentiation and development, cell fate and identity are controlled by waves of genetic reprogramming that directly affect the functional organization of the cell nucleus and the RNA biogenesis pathway from the gene to polysomes. In the past decade actin and myosin have emerged as key regulators of gene expression by participating in chromatin organization, in different phases of gene transcription and in assembly of nascent ribonucleoprotein complexes. An exciting development is the discovery that these nuclear actin-based mechanisms are important during nuclear reprogramming. With this in mind, our lab applies molecular and cell biology techniques in combination with genome-wide approaches to dissect how actin and myosin regulate transcription and chromatin on a global scale and their direct involvement in RNA biogenesis during differentiation and development.

Ongoing Projects

• Dissecting how actin and myosin regulate rRNA synthesis by the RNA polymerase I and how these mechanisms impact on cell growth and proliferation
• A genome-wide approach to understand the role of actin in nuclear reprogramming
• Understanding the role of actin in complex with certain heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) in mRNA transport and localization during development of neuronal cells