Research Program and Theme
Cancer Engineering and Biological Systems | Mechanistic and Quantitative Biology
Research Focus
Auinash Kalsotra’s laboratory focuses on answering one fundamental question in biology: How do cells produce the precise assortment of RNAs and proteins in space and time to carry out complex tissue functions? Kalsotra is particularly interested in understanding how post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms integrate with transcriptional and translational programs to ensure normal tissue development and function, why misregulation of such mechanisms results in disease, and whether researchers can leverage to prevent or reverse particular human disorders, including cancer. Kalsotra has previously demonstrated that regulated programs of alternative pre-mRNA splicing – an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to generate proteome diversity – serve an essential function in postnatal tissue development and maturation.
Education
- Ph.D., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, 2005
Campus Affiliations
- Professor, Biochemistry
- Professor, Nutritional Sciences
- Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Select Honors and Recognitions
- Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago Investigator Award, 2024
- Research Award, Muscular Dystrophy Association, 2023
- William C. Rose Professorship in Biochemistry, 2021
- Basil O’Connor Research Scholarship, March of Dimes, 2014