Description:

The Lurie Cancer Center Basic Research Seminar Series presents:

The Role of Noncoding RNAs in Cancer: Shedding Light on the Transcriptomic Dark Matter

Shannon Lauberth, PhD
Associate Professor,
Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University


The vast majority of DNA in the human genome does not code for functional proteins but encodes for noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that are often referred to as the “dark matter” of the genome. Increasing evidence supports a role for ncRNAs in altering epigenetic states and
gene expression. The Lauberth Lab studies the biology of ncRNAs that are produced from enhancers (eRNAs) and regions downstream of the boundary of protein- coding genes in various human cancers. This talk will focus on her studies of unraveling whether these abundant ncRNAs can serve as new molecular determinants of cancer initiation, risk, or susceptibility and to determine the mechanisms underlying their regulation and function in human cancers.

All members of the Northwestern Medicine community are invited to attend.