Principal Investigator

Kyle A. Cottrell

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

RNA editing, post-transcriptional regulation, cancer

Graduate Students

Addison Young

Graduate Student

Protein Structure-Function Relationships, Cancer Development

Isabelle Juhler

Graduate Student

Cancer, viral oncology, drug discovery

Undergraduate Researchers

David Onishile

Undergraduate Researcher

Cancer cell culture, immunology, gene editing

Estelle Gardner

Undergraduate Researcher

Human disease and therapeutics

Madison Liu

Purdue University

Undergraduate Researcher

cancer, therapeutics, protein engineering

Renee Chua

Purdue University

Undergraduate Researcher

Cancer, immunotherapy, drug discovery

Alumni

Holly Bohlin

Lab Manager and Research Technician

cancer, bioinformatics, RNA therapeutics

Jackson Pierce

Research Technician

ALS-related proteinopathy, cancer, genetics

Philosophy

We recognize that the pursuit of scientific knowledge is not an equitable endeavor. Systematic biases often influence who can pursue academic research. To that end, it is the goal of this laboratory to do our part to make that pursuit equitable. We will do so by making the laboratory an inclusive and diverse workplace by following the below tenets:

Sexism, racism, classism, or other forms of discrimination have no place in the laboratory.
Every member of the lab has a voice, and their voice should be heard.
Inclusivity and diversity will make our team stronger.
Everyone in the laboratory is entitled to appropriate training, resources, and mentorship.

We will make every effort to ensure that our work is robust, reproducible, and accessible.

Research Projects

The roles of ADAR interacting proteins

ADAR edits most of the transcriptome, though editing of only a handful of RNAs is required to supress dsRNA sensing. This project focuses on regulation of A-to-I editing by ADAR interacting proteins.

Targeting ADAR to treat triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the deadliest form of breast cancer. Unlike hormone receptor positive and HER2 positive breast cancer, there are no broadly applicable targeted therapies for TNBC. ADAR is a potential therapeutic target for TNBC. This project focuses on understanding ADAR-dependency in breast cancer and identifying small molecule inhibitors of ADAR.

RNA binding proteins in cancer

This project focuses on understanding the role of RNA binding proteins in cancer, with the goal of identifying vulnerabilities that can be targeted to treat cancer.

Impact of RNA editing or mutations on post-transcriptional regulation in cancer

The fate of a messenger RNA is influenced by multiple cis and trans acting factors. This project focuses on understanding how base editing or mutations influence post-transcriptional regulation of mRNAs.

Featured Publications

Kyle A. Cottrell, Sua Ryu, Jackson R. Pierce, Luisangely Soto-Torres, Holly E. Bohlin, Angela M. Schab, Jason D. Weber

April, 2024 Cancer Research Communications

Induction of viral mimicry upon loss of DHX9 and ADAR1 in breast cancer cells

ADAR1 and DHX9 redundantly suppress dsRNA sensing in breast cancer

Publications

Addison A. Young, Holly E. Bohlin, Jackson R. Pierce, Kyle A. Cottrell (2024). Suppression of double-stranded RNA sensing in cancer; molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential. Biochemical Society Transactions.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Sua Ryu, Helen Donelick, Hung Mai, Addison A. Young, Jackson R. Pierce, Brenda L. Bass, Jason D. Weber (2024). Activation of PKR by a short-hairpin RNA. Scientific Reports.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Sua Ryu, Jackson R. Pierce, Luisangely Soto-Torres, Holly E. Bohlin, Angela M. Schab, Jason D. Weber (2024). Induction of viral mimicry upon loss of DHX9 and ADAR1 in breast cancer cells. Cancer Research Communications.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Ryan Andrews, Brenda Bass (2024). The competitive landscape of the dsRNA world. Molecular Cell.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Luisangely Soto-Torres, Michael G. Dizon, Jason D. Weber (2021). 8-Azaadenosine and 8-Chloroadenosine are not Selective Inhibitors of ADAR. Cancer Research Communications.

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Che-Pei Kung, Kyle A. Cottrell, Sua Ryu, Emily R. Bramel, Raleigh D. Kladney, Emily A. Bao, Eric C. Freeman, Thwisha Sabloak, Jason D. Weber (2021). Evaluating the therapeutic potential of ADAR1 inhibition for triple-negative breast cancer. Oncogene.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Ryan C. Chiou, Jason D. Weber (2020). Upregulation of 5′-terminal oligopyrimidine mRNA translation upon loss of the ARF tumor suppressor. Scientific Reports.

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Manasvi Verma, Junhong Choi, Kyle A. Cottrell, Zeno Lavagnino, Erica N. Thomas, Slavica Pavlovic-Djuranovic, Pawel Szczesny, David W. Piston, Joseph D. Puglisi, Sergej Djuranovic (2019). A short translational ramp determines the efficiency of protein synthesis. Nature Communications.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Hemangi G. Chaudhari, Barak A. Cohen, Sergej Djuranovic (2018). PTRE-seq reveals mechanism and interactions of RNA binding proteins and miRNAs. Nature Communications.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Pawel Szczesny, Sergej Djuranovic (2017). Translation efficiency is a determinant of the magnitude of miRNA-mediated repression. Scientific Reports.

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Kyle A. Cottrell, Sergej Djuranovic (2016). Urb-RIP – An Adaptable and Efficient Approach for Immunoprecipitation of RNAs and Associated RNAs/Proteins. PLoS One.

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Kristin M. Slade, Sydney Freggiaro, Kyle A. Cottrell, Joshua J. Smith, Emily A. Wiley (2011). Sirtuin-mediated nuclear differentiation and programmed degradation in Tetrahymena. BMC Cell Biology.

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