New approaches to treating cancer through RNA analysis

Featuring: Angela Brooks & Cameron Soulette

Brooks, an expert in the analysis of RNA sequencing data, is studying the role of RNA splicing aberrations in cancer. RNA splicing is an editing process that enables one gene to produce several different protein molecules. Mutations in the genes that regulate splicing are common in cancer cells. To investigate the effects of these mutations, Brooks and her team are developing the experimental and computational tools needed to directly assess the RNA output of cancer cells and understand how changes in RNA processing affect cell function. This research could lead to novel approaches for treating cancer and other diseases in which splicing is abnormal.

Schedule:
6 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Lecture

Questions? Contact the UC Santa Cruz Special Events Office at specialevents@ucsc.edu or (831) 459-5003

Angela Brooks

Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, Institute Faculty, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute
Angela Brooks joined UC Santa Cruz in 2015, after completing her Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Broad Institute. She was recently named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. Brooks is known for developing complex computing tools to analyze large sets of genomic data—a significant asset in her work, and that of her colleagues.

Cameron Soulette

A graduate student in the Brooks Lab, Cameron Soulette, studies mechanisms and signals involved in pre-mRNA splicing and how somatic mutations across different cancer types affect splicing. He is also aiding in the application of nanopore sequencing to sequence full transcript isoforms.Soulette was awarded the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in 2018.