Guttman Lab
Decoding the roles of non-coding RNAs in shaping nuclear structure and gene expression.
We are an integrated team of experimental and computational biologists who work together to understand how nuclear compartments control gene expression programs and cell state decisions. We believe that the strength of our science arises from the diversity of our ideas and experiences. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse laboratory culture and as such welcome students, postdocs, and visiting scholars from all backgrounds to join our group.
Our Lab
We seek to understand fundamental principles of biological regulation within the nucleus. Our team of scientists from diverse backgrounds allows us to approach these questions from a holistic perspective with an integrated strategy. We do not make a clear distinction between experimental and computational projects; our projects are goal-centered and use all tools critical for success. When necessary, we develop new tools to answer questions that were previously inaccessible and apply these tools to decipher new paradigms and improve our understanding of essential biological functions.
In The News
Featured this week in Caltech News: Prashant Bhat’s latest work on nuclear speckles
Featured this week in Caltech News: New work on nuclear speckles, now published in Nature, “Genome organization around nuclear speckles drives mRNA splicing efficiency“.
Previously, we tended to think of splicing as a constant—you make a pre-mRNA; you splice it. Now we know that the physical organization of the nucleus makes a big difference in the efficiency of splicing and, by extension, other processes. – Prashant Bhat, PhD
Read the article in Caltech News ▶︎
Mitch Guttman on the Active Motif Epigenetics Podcast
In a recent interview on the Active Motif Epigenetics Podcast with host Dr. Stefan Dillinger, Dr. Mitch Guttman discussed exploring the long non-coding RNA Xist and its role in X chromosome inactivation, as well as his lab’s development of the SPRITE method to map multi-way contacts between DNA, RNA, and proteins to better understand 3D nuclear organization.
Listen to the interview ▶︎
Revealing chromosome contours, one dot at a time
Nature interviews Guttman Lab in this week’s Technology Feature discussing the latest technological advances for studying 3D genome organization. In concert with the in situ microscopy renderings created at Caltech’s Cai Lab, Guttman Lab’s SPRITE method has opened the door to discovery driven proximity interactions – even long distance interactions. Even lab mascot SHARP-y made the feature! Read the full article at Nature.com
Announcements
Andrew Perez defends his thesis
Andrew defends his PhD thesis, “ChIP-DIP: A multiplexed method for mapping proteins to DNA uncovers combinatorics controlling gene expression.” Congrats, Andrew!
Read our newest publication, “Genome organization around nuclear speckles drives mRNA splicing efficiency” in Nature ►
Jimmy Guo defends his thesis
Jimmy defends his PhD thesis, “Defining the universe of functional RNA-protein interactions” in which he describes his work on CLAP and SPIDR. He’ll be returning to USC in June to also gain his MD.
Mackenzie Strehle defends her thesis
Mackenzie defends her PhD Thesis “How the Xist lncRNA silences the X, the whole X, and nothing but the X” and starts a position at Evercore Partners in New York City!
Welcome Jolo Ferrer!
Jolo Ferrer joins the lab as the newest Guttman lab graduate student!
Guttman lab hosts students to learn SPRITE
Guttman lab hosts students to learn SPRITE from friends of the lab – K.V. Prasanth’s lab at the University of Illinois –
Urbana Champaign and Jennifer Phillips-Cremmins lab at UPenn.
