Name: Karthik Guruvayurappan
Hometown: Cupertino, CA
Hobbies: Tennis, Eating, Running, Guitar
Lab: McVicker Lab, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Lab website: http://mcvicker.salk.edu/
What do you study?
I’m currently studying interactions between enhancer elements across the genome. Enhancers are regions of the DNA that impact the expression level of a certain gene, which in turn can impact the traits that cells in our body display. Since a single gene can have multiple enhancers, my goal is to understand how different enhancer elements interact with each other to control expression for a given gene.
Why is it important?
Since all the cells in the body have the same DNA, gene expression is the mechanism responsible for differentiating and regulating the various cell types in our body, ranging from skin cells to blood cells. However, dysregulation or changes in gene expression can also have adverse effects, leading to diseases like cancer and diabetes. Decoding the effect of enhancer elements in the genome can further our understanding of gene regulation throughout the body, which in turn could inform us about the genetic basis of these diseases.
What piqued your interest in science?
When learning about genetics in high school, I found it super interesting to learn about how single mutations in the genome could create significant differences in the traits that we express, and how genetically complex traits like eye color are!
What do you like about being a scientist?
I enjoy the unknown! With many problems in science, there is not always an obvious solution to the problem. I enjoy experimenting with different approaches, fine tuning them, and sometimes coming up with my own solutions to these types of problems.
What are 5 general vocabulary terms someone should know going into your field of science?
Gene, Transcription, Promoter, Enhancer, Repressor
What are 5 specific vocabulary terms someone should know about your research?
CRISPRi, Generalized Linear Model, gRNA, Transcription Start Site, RNA-seq