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Marek Napierala, Ph.D.

Present Title & Affiliation

Primary Appointment

Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX

Research Interests

I have more than 15 years of experience studying the molecular mechanisms associated with human diseases that are caused by the expansion of repeat sequences. In my graduate studies, I worked to elucidate the RNA structure of transcripts containing trinucleotide repeat sequences. As a part of my doctorate, I published the first report on hairpin structures formed by CUG repeats, which are expanded in myotonic dystrophy type 1. I have also contributed towards understanding the role of CGG and CAG RNAs in pathogenesis of FXTAS and other repeat expansion diseases. My independent work continues to be solely devoted to investigating pathogenic repeat sequences, however the focus has shifted away from basic questions, and towards the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis and the development of therapeutic strategies for these disorders. My long-term research goal is to uncover pathways that are involved in the pathogenesis of repeat expansion diseases in order to target them for therapeutic intervention.

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

2007 Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry PAS, Poznan, Poland, Habilitation, Biochemistry
1999 Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland, PHD, Biochemistry
1995 University of Adam Mickiewicz, Poznan, Poland, MS, Summa Cum Laude, Biotechnology

Postgraduate Training

7/2006-12/2007 Research Scientist, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX, Dr. Robert D. Wells
11/1999-5/2006 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX, Dr. Robert D. Wells

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Urszula Polak, Elizabeth McIvor, Sharon Dent, Robert D. Wells and Marek Napierala. Expanding complexity of unstable repeat diseases. BioFactors. In Press.
2. Martelli A, Napierala M, Puccio H. Understanding the genetic and molecular pathogenesis of Friedreich's ataxia through animal and cellular models. Dis Model Mech 5(2):165-76, 3/2012. PMCID: PMC3291638.
3. Polak U, Hirsch C, Ku S, Gottesfeld J, Dent SY, Napierala M. Selecting and isolating colonies of human induced pluripotent stem cells reprogrammed from adult fibroblasts. J Vis Exp(60), 2012. e-Pub 2/20/2012. PMID: 22370855.
4. Kim E, Napierala M, Dent SY. Hyperexpansion of GAA repeats affects post-initiation steps of FXN transcription in Friedreich's ataxia. Nucleic Acids Res 39(19):8366-77, 10/2011. e-Pub 7/10/2011. PMCID: PMC3201871.
5. de Mezer M, Wojciechowska M, Napierala M, Sobczak K, Krzyzosiak WJ. Mutant CAG repeats of Huntingtin transcript fold into hairpins, form nuclear foci and are targets for RNA interference. Nucleic Acids Res 39(9):3852-63, 5/2011. e-Pub 1/18/2011. PMCID: PMC3089464.
6. Ku S, Soragni E, Campau E, Thomas EA, Altun G, Laurent LC, Loring JF, Napierala M, Gottesfeld JM. Friedreich's ataxia induced pluripotent stem cells model intergenerational GAA-TTC triplet repeat instability. Cell Stem Cell 7(5):631-7, 11/5/2010. PMCID: PMC2987635.
7. McIvor EI, Polak U, Napierala M. New insights into repeat instability: role of RNA-DNA hybrids. RNA Biol 7(5):551-8, Sep-Oct, 9/2010. e-Pub 9/1/2010. PMCID: PMC3073251.
8. Lin Y, Dent SY, Wilson JH, Wells RD, Napierala M. R loops stimulate genetic instability of CTG.CAG repeats. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107(2):692-7, 1/12/2010. e-Pub 12/22/2009. PMCID: PMC2818888.
9. Soragni E, Herman D, Dent SY, Gottesfeld JM, Wells RD, Napierala M. Long intronic GAA-TTC repeats induce epigenetic changes and reporter gene silencing in a molecular model of Friedreich ataxia. Nucleic Acids Res 36(19):6056-65, 11/2008. e-Pub 9/2008. PMCID: PMC2577344.

Last updated: 2/27/2013