Current affiliations

• Position

  Post-Doctorate Associate

  Company

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  Further information

City:

None chosen

Hub:

Boston

My interests and goals lie within seeking better understanding of the mechanisms governing regulation of gene expression on the RNA level, in particular, regulation by microRNAs and also alternative splicing. I would like to decipher the role these processes play in molding the transcriptome and proteome and thus affect cellular fate during states of health and disease.

I explore microRNA and splicing regulation using bench work, computational biology and high-throughput techniques. I focus on several aspects that together shed light on these small non-coding RNAs and their roles in molecular biology and evolution. On the miRNA annotation level, I complemented the miRNA registry (miRbase) with hundreds of mammalian high-confidence miRNA homologs and looked into their genomic organization and regulation. Regarding miRNA roles, I proposed a new function for miRNAs in buffering developmental related gene expression and I linked miRNA regulation to oncofetal genes relevant to human cancer. For miRNA targeting, I deciphered determinants of targeting by endogenous (and exogenous) miRNAs (also applicable to siRNAs).
Also see:
http://web.mit.edu/nshomron/www
http://pag.csail.mit.edu/mirnaminer
http://genes.mit.edu/targetrank