RNA metabolism dysfunction and RNA-targeting therapy in neurodegeneration The nervous system has extremely complex RNA processing regulation. Dysfunction of RNA metabolism has emerged to play crucial roles in multiple neurological diseases. Mutations and pathologies of several RNA-binding proteins are...
The evolution of multicellularity occurred hand in hand with the diversification of cell types with disparate morphologies and functions. This segregation of function across different cell types enabled astounding animal complexity; but at the same time, extreme specializations of...
Understanding how the information in the genome is utilized is one of the central questions in modern biology. It has become clear that a critical level of gene regulation occurs through the chemical modification of both the DNA itself...
The Fukunaga lab is broadly interested in RNA biology. More specifically, the Fukunaga lab investigates the mechanism and biology of post-transcriptional gene regulation controlled by small silencing RNAs and RNA-binding proteins. Our research projects will answer fundamental biological questions...
The goal of my research program is to answer a fundamental biological question: how is the genome properly interpreted to coordinate the diversity of cell types observed during neuronal development? We are focused on the acquisition of specific cellular...
The ribosome is a complex molecular machine that translates the genetic code into functional polypeptides. Our work focuses on understanding how the ribosome functions at a molecular level and how changes in its activity lead to mRNA quality control...
The vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) is an amazingly complex structure composed of distinct subtypes of neurons and glia. Our lab aims to identify the molecular mechanisms that control the generation of the major cell types of the vertebrate...
Our laboratory studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the perception of pain under healthy conditions and in the setting of pathology. Towards this goal, we utilize a wide spectrum of approaches including behavioral analysis, in vivo and in...
Auditory hair cells, located in the inner ear cochlea are critical for our ability to detect sound. In mammals, neural innervated hair cells come in two flavors: inner hair cells, which are our primary mechanoreceptor and relay sound information...
Eukaryotic cells package their genomes in the form of chromatin, which is comprised of histone proteins and DNA. Modification of chromatin by chemical marks such as methylation and acetylation affects how cellular machineries interpret the genome. The Taverna laboratory...