Prof. Igor Ulitsky

The human genome produces tens of thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are molecularly similar to mRNAs, yet do not encode functional proteins. lncRNA expression varies across tissues and is commonly dysregulated in human disease, including cancer. Accumulating evidence shows that lncRNAs play pivotal regulatory roles in diverse biological processes. Our goal is to understand how these functions are carried out and how they are encoded in lncRNAs sequences and structures. We are also interested in how the post-transcriptional fate, including nuclear export, of mRNAs and lncRNA is controlled, and how chromatin remodeling dysfunction contributes to disease in neuronal cells.