Seyed Mehdi Jafarnejad; Principle Investigator
Mehdi earned his PhD in Experimental Medicine from The University of British Columbia, Vancouver (2008–2012), where he studied dysregulated gene expression mechanisms in melanoma metastasis. He then completed postdoctoral training at McGill University, Montreal (2013–2018), focusing on the regulation of cap-dependent mRNA translation by microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins. In 2019, he joined the Johnston Centre for Cancer Research as a Principal Investigator to establish the RNA Biology Lab. His research group investigates the regulation of mRNA translation and decay, with a particular focus on their roles in cellular responses to anticancer treatments and viral infections.
Susanta Chatterjee; Postdoctoral Research Associate
Susanta earned his PhD in RNA Biology from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (2015–2022), where he focused on unraveling the coordinated biogenesis of miRNAs in mammalian cells. He also investigated the role of various cellular organelles in miRNA trafficking and activity. In 2022, he joined the RNA Biology Lab to study how different anticancer treatments affect mRNA translation and decay machinery, aiming to understand its role in drug resistance mechanisms.
Okan Onar; Postdoctoral Research Associate
Okan earned his PhD in Molecular Biology from Ankara University (2016–2022), where he studied the anticancer mechanisms of action and molecular targets of natural products. Currently, in the RNA Biology Lab, he investigates the role of mRNA translation machinery in cancer cell responses to radiotherapy.
Shannon Tracey; Postdoctoral Research Associate
Patric Harris Snell; PhD student
Patric completed his MSc in Biochemistry at Cardiff University (2017–2021), focusing on epigenetic mechanisms regulating gene expression at the transcriptional level. Currently, in the RNA Biology Lab, he is studying the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression mediated by RNA-binding proteins.
Tom McGirr; PhD student
Tom received his BSc degree in Biochemistry at the University of Glasgow. At the RNA Biology Lab he investigates the role of the mRNA translation machinery in glioblastoma cancer cells response to anticancer treatments.
Naomi Jess; MSc student
Naomi completed her BSc in Biomedical sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, followed by a placement year at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she studied the effects of neurotransmitters on neurovascular signalling. At the RNA Biology Lab, Naomi is currently investigating the role of RNA binding proteins in glioblastoma cancer cells’ resistance to chemotherapy.
