Our Philosophy

Snapshot of a circos plot showing the diverse types of RNA duplexes in mRNAs

For the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone, and is a succession of little things brought together.
Vincent Van Gogh

We are interested in the myriad of links that bring together the strands of RNA molecules, their links with proteins, and how these little links make life happen.

In particular, we focus on the roles of dynamic protein-RNA condensates, which form through large numbers of weak links. We wish to understand how these links enable selective RNA regulation, how they are rapidly modulated in response to cellular signals, how cross-regulation between proteins and RNAs in condensates contributes to cellular homeostasis, and how loss of such homeostasis contributes to neurodegenerative diseases.

We also study transposable elements, genetic migrants with a vast potential for evolutionary innovations. Over a million of sequences derived from such elements are transcribed as part of our genes, and they bind to proteins that shape the gradual emergence of innovations in our RNAs through many small steps.

Inspired by insights gained from RNA, we migrate and collaborate across research fields, backgrounds, and nationalities. We like to bring together our different perspectives, as it is the spirit of connecting and sharing that counts the most.

Primary collaborators

RNA Biology of Neurodegeneration

Andrea Serio - The Francis Crick Institute & King's College London

Marc-David Ruepp - UK DRI at King's

Sonia Gandhi - The Francis Crick Institute & UCL

Ivo Lieberam - King's College London

Kei Cho - King's College London
Pietro Fratta - UCL Institute of Neurology

Gabriel Balmus - UK DRI at Cambridge
Karen Duff - UK DRI at UCL

Giovanna Malucci - Altos labs, Cambridge

Gianpietro Schiavo - UCL Institute of Neurology & UK DRI at UCL

Rickie Patani - The Francis Crick Institute & UCL

Boris Rogelj - Jožef Štefan Institute, Ljubljana