Nik Tsotakos

nxt12@psu.edu

SSET/Biology

Our research attempts to shed some light in an understudied group of RNA molecules, the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA, for short). These molecules seem to play significant roles in the structure (and thus, the function) of the cells in our bodies. Dysregulation of lncRNA molecules could lead, or at least contribute, to disease. We have shown that a certain group of these molecules are dysregulated in diabetic kidney disease, and we are looking forward to understand the effects that this dysregulation has on the function of the kidneys. We eventually want to move on to other systems in the human body, and their associated physiologies.