Page 169 - CSIR-IGIB Annual Report 2020-21

DBT-Ramalingaswami Fellow | RNA structural biology

RNA has emerged as the prominent target for molecular diagnostics, therapeutics and the development
of personalized medicine. In particular, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), which do not encode for proteins,
have been implicated in range of developmental processes and diseases. Interestingly, for lncRNA
structural conservation rather than nucleotide sequence conservation seems to be important for their
function. In fact, these lncRNA can fold into complex secondary and tertiary structures that can interact
with their binding partners to modulate gene expression and to exert cellular effects through diverse
mechanism.

Niyati Jain is interested in characterizing complex architectures of long non protein-coding RNAs. Her
research focuses on the study of interactions between lncRNA and RNA Binding Proteins that can unveil
factors to define their biological functions and may serve as an underpinning to identify novel
therapeutic targets and mechanism of intervention in various diseases.

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