2025 Cohort, Brown University – Dr. Larschan’s Lab
Studying RNA-Protein Interactions to Characterize Equitable Gene Expression: A Reflection
My name is Vivian Chute, and I am an incoming sophomore at Brown University. At Brown, I am concentrating in Biophysics, and hope to continue to graduate school in biology, physics, or medicine. I was drawn to this program because of the opportunity to engage in a newer and more niche form of biology research and the ability to connect with people across the country working with IISAGE.
This summer I worked in the Larschan Lab on RNA-Protein interactions in the dosage compensation complex (DCC) of Drosophila melanogaster. The DCC is responsible for dosage compensation, the equalization of X-linked gene expression across sexes, which is important to understand because of its ties to aneuploid diseases and use as a model for studying gene expression patterns. My mentor, a PhD student in the lab, and I used techniques such as protein purification, in vitro transcription, and MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) to test the interactions between RNA on the X2 (roX2), a long noncoding RNA, and Chromatin-Linked Adapter for MSL Proteins (CLAMP), a pioneer transcription factor, both found in the DCC.
Using MST, which tests the binding between two molecules, we were able to find new insights regarding the interactions between roX2 and CLAMP in Drosophila. We found a specific region on roX2 that binds to CLAMP extremely well, which may indicate an important region in the in vivo mechanism of dosage compensation, and proved that both zinc finger domains on CLAMP are necessary for proper binding to roX2. These results, and future research, will help to propose a comprehensive mechanism for dosage compensation.
This summer I learned a lot, both about my project and larger scientific themes. I learned how to persist through challenges – like malformed proteins, experiments that took days to work, and bad yields – and when to stay late to get something done or leave early and prevent burnout. I learned how to read scientific papers well, approach research questions, and most importantly how to collaborate with the amazing scientists around me. I had a great time working with my mentor and the lab in general, and hope to continue working at the Larschan Lab during my time at Brown.
This experience showed me all the different ways that science is used throughout life and a variety of careers and how I can keep research an important part of my academics and future plans.
I’d like to thank my mentor, Isabelle Pilo, Dr. Erica Larschan and all lab members, Jordan Favors and the IISAGE team, and the National Science Foundation for funding the REU program.
