Associate Prof Faraz Mardakheh
Our aim is to understand how RBPs orchestrate the fate and function of RNA molecules, and how their activities become dysregulated in cancer
Associate Prof Faraz Mardakheh
Post-transcriptional regulation by RNA binding proteins
Each cell in our body contains the same genetic information, yet this information is decoded in diverse manners, allowing different cell types to exhibit distinct characteristics. Importantly, the decoding of genetic information is often disrupted in cancer cells, leading to the emergence of undesirable traits, such as unrestricted cell proliferation, or invasion into other tissues and organs.
The decoding of genetic information occurs in a stepwise manner, progressing from DNA to RNA to proteins, which are the final functional products of most genes. Our lab is particularly interested in understanding how protein synthesis is often dysregulated in cancer cells through the action of a key group of proteins known as RNA binding proteins (RBPs).
Using cutting-edge proteomics, RNA sequencing, and bioinformatics methodologies, along with a variety of cell-based and biochemical assays, our lab investigates how specific RBPs regulate protein synthesis, and how this regulation becomes corrupted in cancer. By gaining a detailed mechanistic understanding of cancer-relevant RBPs, our ultimate goal is to develop novel therapeutic strategies for combatting cancer.
To find out more visit our lab website: https://www.mardakhehlab.info/
