Akanksha Thawani, PhD
@akankshathawani.bsky.social
Incoming Assistant Professor, Columbia University | @DamonRunyon.org Postdoc, UC Berkeley | PhD Princeton University | Mobile elements, Structural biology and Genome engineering | http://thawanilab.org
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The Thawani Lab at Columbia University
The Thawani Lab at Columbia University describing their research on mobile genome, cryo-electron microscopy and genome engineering
thawanilab.org
Extremely excited to share that I’m joining Columbia University @columbiauniversity.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor!
We will explore how the mobile genome works—how transposons shape us, our DNA and how they can be harnessed to build useful technologies. #NewPI #RNAsky #TEsky
thawanilab.org
We will explore how the mobile genome works—how transposons shape us, our DNA and how they can be harnessed to build useful technologies. #NewPI #RNAsky #TEsky
thawanilab.org
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Our paper in Science is out! @souravagrawal.bsky.social, @rlynn.bsky.social, @susvirkar.bsky.social, and the rest of the team show human RPA is a telomerase processivity factor essential for telomere maintenance. This reshapes our thinking about telomerase regulation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Human RPA is an essential telomerase processivity factor for maintaining telomeres
Telomerase counteracts telomere shortening by repeatedly adding DNA repeats to chromosome ends. We identified the replication protein A (RPA) heterotrimer as a telomerase processivity factor critical ...
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Our paper in Science is out! @souravagrawal.bsky.social, @rlynn.bsky.social, @susvirkar.bsky.social, and the rest of the team show human RPA is a telomerase processivity factor essential for telomere maintenance. This reshapes our thinking about telomerase regulation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Great work from our future neighbor!
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Antiviral reverse transcriptases reveal the evolutionary origin of telomerase
Defense-associated reverse transcriptases (DRTs) employ diverse and distinctive mechanisms of cDNA synthesis to protect bacteria against viral infection. However, much of DRT family diversity remains ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 17, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Great work from our future neighbor!
Check out this extremely cool work by @fueyoraquel.bsky.social on how human specific ERVs contribute to early development!
Today in @nature.com, we present our work leveraging functional genomics and human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism in preimplantation development driven by the endogenous retrovirus HERVK.
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
A human-specific regulatory mechanism revealed in a pre-implantation model
Nature - Genetic manipulation of blastoids reveals the role of recently emerged transposable elements and genes in human development.
rdcu.be
October 1, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Check out this extremely cool work by @fueyoraquel.bsky.social on how human specific ERVs contribute to early development!
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Today in @nature.com , we highlight how a cousin of CRISPR-Cas10, mCpol, establishes an evolutionary trap in anti-phage immune systems.
Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A miniature CRISPR–Cas10 enzyme confers immunity by inhibitory signalling - Nature
Panoptes, an anti-phage defence system against virus-mediated immune suppression, is revealed.
www.nature.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Today in @nature.com , we highlight how a cousin of CRISPR-Cas10, mCpol, establishes an evolutionary trap in anti-phage immune systems.
Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Check out @erinedoherty.bsky.social and my work from @doudna-lab.bsky.social lab here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Extremely excited to share that I’m joining Columbia University @columbiauniversity.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor!
We will explore how the mobile genome works—how transposons shape us, our DNA and how they can be harnessed to build useful technologies. #NewPI #RNAsky #TEsky
thawanilab.org
We will explore how the mobile genome works—how transposons shape us, our DNA and how they can be harnessed to build useful technologies. #NewPI #RNAsky #TEsky
thawanilab.org
The Thawani Lab at Columbia University
The Thawani Lab at Columbia University describing their research on mobile genome, cryo-electron microscopy and genome engineering
thawanilab.org
August 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Extremely excited to share that I’m joining Columbia University @columbiauniversity.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor!
We will explore how the mobile genome works—how transposons shape us, our DNA and how they can be harnessed to build useful technologies. #NewPI #RNAsky #TEsky
thawanilab.org
We will explore how the mobile genome works—how transposons shape us, our DNA and how they can be harnessed to build useful technologies. #NewPI #RNAsky #TEsky
thawanilab.org
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
RNA N-glycosylation enables immune evasion and homeostatic efferocytosis by chemically caging acp3U. Excited to report this work lead by Vinnie @vinnieviruses.bsky.social and in collaboration with @vijayrathinam.bsky.social in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
August 6, 2025 at 3:36 PM
RNA N-glycosylation enables immune evasion and homeostatic efferocytosis by chemically caging acp3U. Excited to report this work lead by Vinnie @vinnieviruses.bsky.social and in collaboration with @vijayrathinam.bsky.social in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Looking forward to this new installment of the Woods Hole Mobile DNA Meeting! Fantastic program, laid-back atmosphere, and gorgeous setting at the Marine Biological Laboratory ⛵️🪼🐋
Abstract submission closes Aug 7 but registration after that date is possible. www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?ev...
Abstract submission closes Aug 7 but registration after that date is possible. www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?ev...
August 5, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Looking forward to this new installment of the Woods Hole Mobile DNA Meeting! Fantastic program, laid-back atmosphere, and gorgeous setting at the Marine Biological Laboratory ⛵️🪼🐋
Abstract submission closes Aug 7 but registration after that date is possible. www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?ev...
Abstract submission closes Aug 7 but registration after that date is possible. www.eventsquid.com/event.cfm?ev...
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Many proteins bind RNA, yet we still don’t know what RNAs most bind because methods map one RBP at a time. In @cp-cell.bsky.social, with the Jovanovic lab, we describe SPIDR – a method for mapping the RNA binding sites of dozens of RBPs in a single experiment. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
July 26, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Many proteins bind RNA, yet we still don’t know what RNAs most bind because methods map one RBP at a time. In @cp-cell.bsky.social, with the Jovanovic lab, we describe SPIDR – a method for mapping the RNA binding sites of dozens of RBPs in a single experiment. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
#TEsky Structural basis for the evolution of a domesticated group II intron–like reverse transcriptase to function in host cell DNA repair doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Structural basis for the evolution of a domesticated group II intron–like reverse transcriptase to function in host cell DNA repair | PNAS
A previous study found that a bacterial group II intron–like reverse transcriptase
(G2L4 RT) evolved to function in double-strand break repair (DSB...
doi.org
August 1, 2025 at 3:21 PM
#TEsky Structural basis for the evolution of a domesticated group II intron–like reverse transcriptase to function in host cell DNA repair doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Ready to lead pioneering research that bridges systems-level investigations of biological systems to molecular mechanism? The EMBL Molecular Systems Biology Unit in Heidelberg is hiring a Group Leader!
Group Leader – Molecular Systems Biology Unit
Are you ready to lead groundbreaking research in Molecular Systems Biology? Join us at EMBL! We are seeking a motivated scientist to lead an independent research group, addressing original biological ...
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Ready to lead pioneering research that bridges systems-level investigations of biological systems to molecular mechanism? The EMBL Molecular Systems Biology Unit in Heidelberg is hiring a Group Leader!
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
🦠🧍♀️From bacterial to human immunity.
We report in @science.org the discovery of a human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins that participates in the TLR pathway of animal innate immunity.
Co-led wt @enzopoirier.bsky.social by D. Bonhomme and @hugovaysset.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We report in @science.org the discovery of a human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins that participates in the TLR pathway of animal innate immunity.
Co-led wt @enzopoirier.bsky.social by D. Bonhomme and @hugovaysset.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org
July 24, 2025 at 6:23 PM
🦠🧍♀️From bacterial to human immunity.
We report in @science.org the discovery of a human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins that participates in the TLR pathway of animal innate immunity.
Co-led wt @enzopoirier.bsky.social by D. Bonhomme and @hugovaysset.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We report in @science.org the discovery of a human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins that participates in the TLR pathway of animal innate immunity.
Co-led wt @enzopoirier.bsky.social by D. Bonhomme and @hugovaysset.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
The Xue lab at UC Irvine is looking for a staff scientist to support our work investigating how microbes interact and evolve in the gut microbiome! Open to a wide range of previous experience levels, see ad for more.
recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09601
recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09601
Junior, Assistant, or Associate Specialist – Xue Lab
University of California, Irvine is hiring. Apply now!
recruit.ap.uci.edu
July 17, 2025 at 8:32 PM
The Xue lab at UC Irvine is looking for a staff scientist to support our work investigating how microbes interact and evolve in the gut microbiome! Open to a wide range of previous experience levels, see ad for more.
recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09601
recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09601
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
We wrote a review on Transposable Elements (TEs) and almost all aspects of TE silencing and their roles in biological processes & disease.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of transposable elements and their roles in development and disease - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
Transposable elements (TEs) comprise nearly half of the human genome. This Review discusses transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that repress TE activity, how TEs escape this suppressio...
www.nature.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:12 PM
We wrote a review on Transposable Elements (TEs) and almost all aspects of TE silencing and their roles in biological processes & disease.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Deeply touched and honored by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, my alma mater, (@uam.es) making me Doctor Honoris Causa. Thank you to the Department of Physical Chemistry for nominating me for this recognition. It was a memorable day for me and my family👩🎓
June 24, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Deeply touched and honored by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, my alma mater, (@uam.es) making me Doctor Honoris Causa. Thank you to the Department of Physical Chemistry for nominating me for this recognition. It was a memorable day for me and my family👩🎓
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Like a dream, my name next to that of @isabelallende.com, and to be recognized by Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo UIMP. Soon after, Irene Vallejo @irenevalmore.bsky.social will receive the same honor. I feel proud to be linked to these truly inspiring, talented women! Thank you UIMP!
June 24, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Like a dream, my name next to that of @isabelallende.com, and to be recognized by Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo UIMP. Soon after, Irene Vallejo @irenevalmore.bsky.social will receive the same honor. I feel proud to be linked to these truly inspiring, talented women! Thank you UIMP!
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Structures of vertebrate R2 retrotransposon complexes during target-primed reverse transcription and after second-strand nicking pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40540573/ #cryoem
June 21, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Structures of vertebrate R2 retrotransposon complexes during target-primed reverse transcription and after second-strand nicking pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40540573/ #cryoem
Vertebrate retrotransposons are the future of gene therapy. But how do they insert their genes? 🔥🔥
Thrilled to share our new work now published with Kathy Collins, @nogaleslab.bsky.social @berkeleymcb.bsky.social where we investigate this with #cryoEM & biochemistry in 🧪 and cells! #RNAsky #TEsky
Thrilled to share our new work now published with Kathy Collins, @nogaleslab.bsky.social @berkeleymcb.bsky.social where we investigate this with #cryoEM & biochemistry in 🧪 and cells! #RNAsky #TEsky
June 23, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Vertebrate retrotransposons are the future of gene therapy. But how do they insert their genes? 🔥🔥
Thrilled to share our new work now published with Kathy Collins, @nogaleslab.bsky.social @berkeleymcb.bsky.social where we investigate this with #cryoEM & biochemistry in 🧪 and cells! #RNAsky #TEsky
Thrilled to share our new work now published with Kathy Collins, @nogaleslab.bsky.social @berkeleymcb.bsky.social where we investigate this with #cryoEM & biochemistry in 🧪 and cells! #RNAsky #TEsky
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
We're thrilled to share the published version of our DRT9 story, online today @nature.com! Congratulations to all authors!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hello BlueSky! Inaugural post here from the Sternberg Lab. We're excited to share our latest work, in which we teamed up with the @WiedenheftLab to study how DRT9 reverse transcriptases provide antiviral immunity. Here’s what we found: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Protein-primed DNA homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
Bacteria defend themselves from viral predation using diverse immune systems, many of which sense and target foreign DNA for degradation. Defense-associated reverse transcriptase (DRT) systems provide...
www.biorxiv.org
May 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM
We're thrilled to share the published version of our DRT9 story, online today @nature.com! Congratulations to all authors!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our review article on the recent progress in understanding the mechanism of LINE element propagation in eukaryotes is out! Please check it out. #TEsky #RNAsky #RT #cryoEM
Check out our review article on the structural and functional studies of retrotransposon proteins by @akankshathawani.bsky.social together with Kathy Collins' lab.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Structural and biochemical studies of mobile retrotransposon proteins in action
Autonomous non-long-terminal repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons, including long interspersed elements (LINEs), are mobile genetic elements abundant in …
www.sciencedirect.com
May 9, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
It is finally (FINALLY) out! We characterized Kathy Collin's super cool OTTR protocol for tRNA and tRF cloning, showing that it is comparable (mim-tRNA-seq, maybe nano-tRNA -seq and LIDAR) or superior (everything else) to the best protocols in the literature.
elifesciences.org/articles/77616
elifesciences.org/articles/77616
Deep sequencing of yeast and mouse tRNAs and tRNA fragments using OTTR
elifesciences.org
April 28, 2025 at 12:33 AM
It is finally (FINALLY) out! We characterized Kathy Collin's super cool OTTR protocol for tRNA and tRF cloning, showing that it is comparable (mim-tRNA-seq, maybe nano-tRNA -seq and LIDAR) or superior (everything else) to the best protocols in the literature.
elifesciences.org/articles/77616
elifesciences.org/articles/77616
Amazing work @mayavoichek.bsky.social and team!
1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
March 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Amazing work @mayavoichek.bsky.social and team!
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
We did it! We caught Starship #transposons moving between #fungal species in the lab, including between species separated by ~100my. We think Starships are a mediator of HGT in fungi, akin to conjugative elements in bacteria. Check out the preprint. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
March 7, 2025 at 7:18 AM
We did it! We caught Starship #transposons moving between #fungal species in the lab, including between species separated by ~100my. We think Starships are a mediator of HGT in fungi, akin to conjugative elements in bacteria. Check out the preprint. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Akanksha Thawani, PhD
Telomeric transposons are pervasive in linear bacterial genomes | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Telomeric transposons are pervasive in linear bacterial genomes
Eukaryotes have linear DNA and their telomeres are hotspots for transposons, which in some cases took over telomere maintenance. Here we identify several families of independently evolved telomeric tr...
www.science.org
March 6, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Telomeric transposons are pervasive in linear bacterial genomes | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...