Albert Almada
Position: Graduate Student
Research: Albert plans to investigate the role small RNAs play in mediating developmental processes such as embryonic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation and how deregulation of these fundamental processes can lead to a cancerous state.
Education: BA, University of California at Irvine

Paul Boutz
Position: Fellow
Research: Paul is interested in understanding the mechanisms by which double-stranded RNA molecules enter into mammalian cells. He is also collaborating with Mohini Jangi to continue work done by Cathie Garnis in conjuction with the Broad Institute to identify factors involved in CD44 alternative splicing using an RNAi-based screen.
Education: PhD, UCLA

Andrew Bosson
Position: Graduate Student
Research: Andrew is following up on work by current lab members, Amanda and Anthony, related to new insights into miRNA-dependent and –independent gene regulation by the Argonaute protein family and other RNA binding proteins.
Education: BA, University of Georgia

Sidi Chen
Position: Fellow
Education: PhD, University of Chicago
Research: Sidi is interested in gene regulation and phenotypic roles of small RNAs. In particular, Sidi is studying microRNA functions in the stress response in the context of cellular physiology and cancer pathogenesis. Sidi is also interested in tumor evolution and development of novel targeted therapy.

Anthony Chiu
Position: Graduate Student
Research: Anthony is interested in understanding noncoding transcription events in our genome. In particular, he is interested in exploring both the mechanisms and functions of divergent transcripts. In addition, he is interested in exploring the phenomenon of enhancer RNAs.
Education: BSc, University of Toronto

Sara Dubbury
Position: Graduate Student

Allan Gurtan
Position: Fellow
Research: Allan is characterizing (1) the function of miRNAs in maintaining somatic cell identity, and (2) the effect of aberrant miRNA expression during the development of cancer.
Education: PhD, Harvard University

Mohini Jangi
Position: Graduate Student
Research: Mohini has been working with Cathie Garnis, who established an RNAi screen in collaboration with the Broad Institute to study alternative splicing of the cell-surface glycoprotein CD44. From the data gathered in this screen, Mohini plans to explore signaling pathways involved in alternative splicing.
Education: BS, Brandeis University

Courtney JnBaptiste
Position: Graduate Student
Research: Courtney is interested in understanding regulatory networks involving miRNAs and how they function to enforce specific cell states, particularly the somatic state. He is also interested in exploring the potential tumorigenicity of various miRNA families.
Education: BS, Bethune Cookman University

Mary Lindstrom
Position: Lab Manager
Education: MS, Emory University

Margarita Siafaca
Position: Administrative Lab Manager, Office

Xuebing Wu
Position: Graduate Student
Research: Xuebing is developing experimental approaches to map RNA-RNA interactions in living cells. He is also investigating the role of chromatin structure in the regulation of alternative splicing.
Education: MS, Tsinghua University