The Rosalind Franklin Institute is welcoming Aditi Borkar on Thursday 23 January from 10:30.

To watch the seminar online, please sign up via the link below.

RAL site pass holders are welcome to attend in person in the Franklin’s first floor Hub. To join in person, please arrive in the R113 Franklin foyer at least 5 minutes before the start of the seminar and a member of the team will let you into the building.

Title:

From Ice to Insight: Cryo-OrbiSIMS enables integrative modelling of RNA structures at atomic resolution.

Abstract:

RNAs are one of the most challenging systems to study using conventional structural biology techniques. To address this challenge, we recently pioneered the use of cryogenic OrbiSIMS mass spectroscopy data in RNA folding and structure refinement algorithms to model native RNA structures with atomic precision (Ward et al. 2024 Nat Comms). Through rigorous benchmarking against the existing high-resolution structures of prototypical systems available in the PDB, we have also thoroughly evaluated the accuracy, reliability, and limitations of our technique.

Going beyond method development, by utilising the 7SK RNP as a test case, we have successfully unravelled the complete 3D structure of this native RNA in its apo and protein-bound forms, as well as in its disease-remodelled state. This comprehensive analysis provides unprecedented insights into the structural dynamics and interactions of the 7SK complex, with potential implications for understanding disease mechanisms.

Biography:

Aditi Borkar is an Assistant Professor in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics at University of Nottingham UK, whre she is pioneering the study of structure and dynamics of native RNP complexes at atomic resolution. While her focus is on HIV pathogenesis as a model, her research also encompasses other RNA viruses like Arenaviruses and Flaviviruses, and RNA misfolding diseases such as Muscular Dystrophy. Aditi’s expertise spans a range of techniques, including integrated biophysics, cryo-Electron Microscopy, Mass Spectroscopy, and computer simulations, and her team often engages in innovative method development for RNS structure analysis.

Before coming to Nottingham, Aditi completed her PhD from University of Cambridge in Structural Biology and continued as a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow between University of Cambridge, UK, University of Bonn, Germany and Yale University, USA.