Eukaryotic mRNA Processing Meeting

Visitor of the Week: Maddie Jensen

maddie_jensen

Meet Maddie Jensen of University of Rochester! The second-year graduate student in Eric Wagner’s lab joined us at this week’s Eukaryotic mRNA Processing virtual meeting. This is Maddie’s first meeting at CSHL, and she’ll join us again at next week’s Mechanisms of Eukaryotic Transcription. She presented a poster titled ‘Identification and structural basis of a novel cellular inhibitor of the Integrator complex’. Her first virtual poster presented was “overall…a great experience! [She] enjoyed connecting with colleagues over Slack and setting up Zoom meetings to [further] discuss their both of their works.”

Tell us about your research.
My project aims to better understand the role of the metazoan Integrator complex in concert with its binding partners such as CG7044/Brat1. Integrator was initially found to regulate snRNA 3’-end processing but has now been shown to be more of a broad transcriptional regulator.

How did you decide to focus on this area/project?
I went to graduate school knowing that I had an interest in molecular biology, specifically RNA and its various roles. I wanted to be a part of better understanding the fine details of our cells.

What and/or who is the inspiration behind your scientific journey?
I had several scientific mentors throughout my high school and college careers that saw qualities in me, such as curiosity and a desire to learn, that caused them to encourage me to pursue research. Their expertise and encouragement throughout the different stages of my academic career had a profound impact on me. Getting to experience the passion they had for science and for their students inspires me to want to do the same for others.

What impact do you hope to make through your work?
I hope that my research will push our understanding of transcriptional regulation forward to one day be applied to human health intervention.

What do you love most about being a researcher?
I really love being able to dig into a specific topic. As a kid, I always loved all kinds of puzzles. That was something my family and I enjoyed doing together. Now, I kind of see my research as uncovering the puzzle of cellular regulation. It is exciting to discover and I enjoy being able to constantly learn new things!

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting; and how do you plan to apply it to your work?
This meeting highlighted the breadth and depth of mRNA processing research. It is also encouraging to be able to see colleague’s hard work pay off in new discoveries. These two things highlighted the importance of having a network of researchers to discuss, challenge and encourage each other. I hope to apply this collaborative way of thinking to the way that I conduct my own research.

What feedback or advice would you share with someone considering to participate in this meeting?
I would highly recommend attending this meeting! My advice would be to interact with as many people as possible. Even though it was virtual, there are plenty of opportunities to connect. I learned so much from hearing about other’s research and getting their feedback on my own.

What’s the most memorable thing that happened during the Meeting?
I really enjoyed the PI Chats ancillary event on Wednesday evening. The PIs and more experienced students all provided unique points of view. I definitely plan to implement some of the advice they gave about daily life in the lab, time management and communication with colleagues. 

Thank you to Maddie for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured researchers - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.

Image provided by Maddie Jensen

Visitor of the Week: Thushara Madanayake

cshl-visitor-thushara-manadayake

Meet Thushara Madanayake of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Research institute. The Sri Lankan national is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Timothy Robinson’s lab. He travelled to New York to take part in his first meeting at CSHL: Eukaryotic mRNA Processing; and Thushara was among the ~120 poster presenters at the biennial meeting. His poster presentation was on “A novel approach to inhibit Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) signaling through Splice Switching Oligonucleotides (SSOs)”.

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in gene expression regulation and in this lab we are studying to identify novel therapeutics for non-small cell lung cancer. We are targeting a key oncogene—EGFR—using RNA based technology.

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?
Alternative mRNA splicing is a critical and an underappreciated factor in cancer. The use of splice switching oligos (SSO) for spinal muscular atrophy to manipulate the aberrant splicing was recently approved. We are using this novel therapy in our research as a way to side step the resistance from drugs that have been approved for certain lung cancers. 

How did your scientific journey begin?
In high school, I found my zoology teacher very inspirational at teaching, especially genetics. After learning the basics of genetics from my teacher, I always had it in my mind that I wanted to become a genetic engineer. After following the traditional science pathway in my home country of Sri Lanka, I was selected to pursue my PhD in the US. Since then, I have been actively involved in the gene regulation research field.

Was there something specific about the Eukaryotic mRNA Processing Meeting that drew you to attend?
I was interested in the meeting’s title Eukaryotic mRNA processing, which is a highly-focused theme for our research.

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
This is a well-organized event that is very focused on the theme. Also, we met contacts who are working in the related field. Hopefully a future collaboration with them can develop.

If someone curious in attending this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
If you want to form collaborations and learn some science, go for it.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
Food has been great and a nice variety.

Thank you to Thushara for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.

Visitor of the Week: Gamage Mauli Aruggoda

VOTW-insta.png

Meet Gamage Mauli Aruggoda of Hunter College - The City University of New York. Gamage is a PhD student and a member of Frida Kleiman's lab within the Chemistry Department. She returned to campus to attend the 2017 Eukaryotic mRNA Processing meeting where she presented a poster titled "HuR ubiquitination by BRCA1/BARD1 and its role in controlling gene expression during DMA damage response".  

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by RNA binding proteins. I am working on how ubiquitination of the RNA binding protein HuR by the tumor suppressors BRCA1/BARD1 regulates gene expression during the progression of the DNA damage response

Was there something specific about the Eukaryotic mRNA Processing meeting that drew you to attend?
For me, this meeting is an amazing opportunity to meet the leaders in the field and peers working in diverse areas of RNA processing. I was eager to share my work in a poster presentation with colleagues; and I received productive criticism that will allow me to improve my research project.  

What is your key takeaway from the meeting?
I am gaining a lot from this meeting. Besides learning of the latest findings in research, technical advances, thought-provoking novel ideas, and massive amount of knowledge generated by large-scale studies in different fields, I am also getting to know peers working on the same research areas. 

How many CSHL meetings have you attended?
To date, I have attended two CSHL meetings (Eukaryotic mRNA Processing, 2016 Translational Control) and hope to attend the Regulatory & Non-Coding RNAs meeting in 2018.

If someone curious in attending your meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
You spend a few days with people who not only share your interests but also want to engage into conversation. These discussions enrich your thinking and provide you with different perspectives on your work. In general, I think it is an inspiring opportunity and attending this meeting is a wonderful professional and personal experience. 

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The meeting is set in a beautiful and relaxing environment – an ideal space to spend with my colleagues.

Thank you to Gamage for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course – go here.