Biology Seminar - Joshua Mendell

The Mendell laboratory is interested in identifying new regulators and functions of various classes of RNAs in mammalian cells. For example, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proposed to perform a diverse array of cellular functions, including regulation of transcription in cis or in trans, structural organization of sub-cellular domains, and direct regulation of other RNAs or proteins. Nevertheless, the subset of detectable lncRNAs that actually perform RNA-mediated functions, and the molecular nature of those potential functions, remains unclear. Our laboratory has focused on identifying and functionally characterizing lncRNAs that leave the site of transcription and perform robust RNA-mediated functions in trans in mammalian cells. Although it is likely that a minority of lncRNAs fall into this class, identification of those that do has revealed unexpected RNA-mediated functions that impact normal physiology and disease. In addition, we have discovered new functions for other classes of RNAs, including microRNAs, small nucleolar RNAs, and tRNAs. I will present our latest data resulting from our efforts to uncover new regulators and functions of coding and noncoding RNAs in mammalian cells.