Kaia Mattioli
@kaiamattioli.bsky.social
K99/R00 postdoc, 24/7 feminist @ Harvard/BWH. generally fascinated by genomes. big fan of reality tv, good writing, crosswords, and cats. obsessed with my e-bike. she/her
in other news, sorry to report that Rosalía's LUX has become my entire personality
November 15, 2025 at 1:08 PM
in other news, sorry to report that Rosalía's LUX has become my entire personality
absolutely delighted to be attending the Rules of Protein-DNA Recognition Meeting in Cancún this week; wonderful talks, wonderful people, & the first conference of my postdoc that hasn't been in New England or the Mid-Atlantic 🌞☺️
October 16, 2025 at 7:28 PM
absolutely delighted to be attending the Rules of Protein-DNA Recognition Meeting in Cancún this week; wonderful talks, wonderful people, & the first conference of my postdoc that hasn't been in New England or the Mid-Atlantic 🌞☺️
editorial manager: your manuscript status is none of your business, actually
September 16, 2025 at 2:28 PM
editorial manager: your manuscript status is none of your business, actually
Decades of progress in science, engineering, & medicine will allow me to live a long & meaningful life, but there's still so much to do. I'm proud to be contributing to progress. And for my family's sake, I hope our country continues to publicly fund life-saving research. /end
September 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Decades of progress in science, engineering, & medicine will allow me to live a long & meaningful life, but there's still so much to do. I'm proud to be contributing to progress. And for my family's sake, I hope our country continues to publicly fund life-saving research. /end
Earlier this year, I learned I have a pathogenic variant in BRCA2, which gives me a very high lifetime risk of breast cancer (55-69%), as well as an increased risk of ovarian cancer (12-29%) and pancreatic cancer (5-10%).
🧵1/ …
🧵1/ …
September 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Earlier this year, I learned I have a pathogenic variant in BRCA2, which gives me a very high lifetime risk of breast cancer (55-69%), as well as an increased risk of ovarian cancer (12-29%) and pancreatic cancer (5-10%).
🧵1/ …
🧵1/ …
Decades of progress in science, engineering, & medicine will allow me to live a long & meaningful life, but there's still so much to do. I'm proud to be contributing to progress. And for my family's sake, I hope our country continues to publicly fund life-saving research. /end
September 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Decades of progress in science, engineering, & medicine will allow me to live a long & meaningful life, but there's still so much to do. I'm proud to be contributing to progress. And for my family's sake, I hope our country continues to publicly fund life-saving research. /end
another day in the salt mines (correcting our robot overlords)
August 19, 2025 at 2:58 PM
another day in the salt mines (correcting our robot overlords)
New England summah 🤌🤌
August 11, 2025 at 1:29 PM
New England summah 🤌🤌
unreasonably sad that Aliquots, our building cafe with an incredible name and decent donuts, closed for good unceremoniously 😭 it's been a reliable snack source for me for 11 years and it's just.... boarded up!!
July 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
unreasonably sad that Aliquots, our building cafe with an incredible name and decent donuts, closed for good unceremoniously 😭 it's been a reliable snack source for me for 11 years and it's just.... boarded up!!
tell me you're writing a review without telling me you're writing a review
July 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
tell me you're writing a review without telling me you're writing a review
I'm grateful for a lot of things in my life but most grateful for this little guy
July 7, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I'm grateful for a lot of things in my life but most grateful for this little guy
watching my partner be a dad these past 16 months has been the greatest joy of my life, HFD @pierceogden.bsky.social
June 16, 2025 at 2:15 AM
watching my partner be a dad these past 16 months has been the greatest joy of my life, HFD @pierceogden.bsky.social
while walking my 16 month old (who just had surgery so has a giant blue cast on his arm, mind you) in his stroller today, an older man came up to me and wordlessly handed me this pamphlet. I've been mansplained many times in my life but I think this one takes the cake
May 29, 2025 at 1:18 AM
while walking my 16 month old (who just had surgery so has a giant blue cast on his arm, mind you) in his stroller today, an older man came up to me and wordlessly handed me this pamphlet. I've been mansplained many times in my life but I think this one takes the cake
had an awesome time at my first Biology of Genomes; what a privilege to be able to share my work with such a kind, smart, and welcoming group of folks. cannot wait to come back!!
May 11, 2025 at 12:05 AM
had an awesome time at my first Biology of Genomes; what a privilege to be able to share my work with such a kind, smart, and welcoming group of folks. cannot wait to come back!!
35 ✨
a transformational year -- personally, professionally, physically. here's to more joy and compassion during this next lap around the sun (and also more literal sun ☀️ please & thank you New England)
a transformational year -- personally, professionally, physically. here's to more joy and compassion during this next lap around the sun (and also more literal sun ☀️ please & thank you New England)
April 17, 2025 at 2:33 PM
35 ✨
a transformational year -- personally, professionally, physically. here's to more joy and compassion during this next lap around the sun (and also more literal sun ☀️ please & thank you New England)
a transformational year -- personally, professionally, physically. here's to more joy and compassion during this next lap around the sun (and also more literal sun ☀️ please & thank you New England)
this alt iso of CREB1 (canonically considered an oncogene) is expressed at lower levels in breast tumors compared to matched normal controls. the 2 isoforms of CREB1 are ubiquitously co-expressed, suggesting the alt iso could act as a dominant negative tumor suppressor of the ref
March 26, 2025 at 6:11 PM
this alt iso of CREB1 (canonically considered an oncogene) is expressed at lower levels in breast tumors compared to matched normal controls. the 2 isoforms of CREB1 are ubiquitously co-expressed, suggesting the alt iso could act as a dominant negative tumor suppressor of the ref
one striking example of a negative regulator isoform is from the TF CREB1. the alternative isoform, which has an exon inclusion event, fails to bind DNA while retaining its ability to activate transcription
March 26, 2025 at 6:10 PM
one striking example of a negative regulator isoform is from the TF CREB1. the alternative isoform, which has an exon inclusion event, fails to bind DNA while retaining its ability to activate transcription
after integrating all available assay data, we find that only 9% (!) of alt TF isoforms show similar molecular activity profiles to their cognate reference isoforms. the majority (59%) are classified as negative regulators!
March 26, 2025 at 6:10 PM
after integrating all available assay data, we find that only 9% (!) of alt TF isoforms show similar molecular activity profiles to their cognate reference isoforms. the majority (59%) are classified as negative regulators!
many well-known alternative TF isoforms function as negative regulators of their cognate reference isoforms (e.g. STAT3b), leading us to wonder how widespread this phenomenon may be. we used our data to classify alt TF isoforms into two categories: negative regulators & rewirers
March 26, 2025 at 6:09 PM
many well-known alternative TF isoforms function as negative regulators of their cognate reference isoforms (e.g. STAT3b), leading us to wonder how widespread this phenomenon may be. we used our data to classify alt TF isoforms into two categories: negative regulators & rewirers
finally, using high-throughput imaging on a subset of TF isoforms in two cell lines, we see that ~50% of alternative TF isoforms show differential subcellular localization or condensate formation
March 26, 2025 at 6:09 PM
finally, using high-throughput imaging on a subset of TF isoforms in two cell lines, we see that ~50% of alternative TF isoforms show differential subcellular localization or condensate formation
TF paralogs have long been appreciated to add complexity to gene regulatory networks. after controlling for differences in amino acid sequence identity, we see that TF isoforms can be as functionally distinct from each other as TF paralogs
March 26, 2025 at 6:08 PM
TF paralogs have long been appreciated to add complexity to gene regulatory networks. after controlling for differences in amino acid sequence identity, we see that TF isoforms can be as functionally distinct from each other as TF paralogs
TF isoforms also differ in their ability to activate/repress transcription, and this differential activity is associated with differences in interactions with cofactors and signaling partners. once again, predicting these changes from sequence alone is very difficult (a theme)!
March 26, 2025 at 6:08 PM
TF isoforms also differ in their ability to activate/repress transcription, and this differential activity is associated with differences in interactions with cofactors and signaling partners. once again, predicting these changes from sequence alone is very difficult (a theme)!
TF isoforms with altered DBDs fail to bind DNA (as expected). but isoforms with identical DBDs often show differential DNA binding, supporting the reported importance of IDRs in DNA binding, & highlighting the difficulty of predicting function from sequence alone
March 26, 2025 at 6:07 PM
TF isoforms with altered DBDs fail to bind DNA (as expected). but isoforms with identical DBDs often show differential DNA binding, supporting the reported importance of IDRs in DNA binding, & highlighting the difficulty of predicting function from sequence alone
but how do TF isoforms differ in functions? we generated a collection of 693 TF isoforms across 246 human TF genes & profiled them across three primary TF "molecular activities": DNA binding, protein binding, and transcriptional activation/repression
March 26, 2025 at 6:06 PM
but how do TF isoforms differ in functions? we generated a collection of 693 TF isoforms across 246 human TF genes & profiled them across three primary TF "molecular activities": DNA binding, protein binding, and transcriptional activation/repression
in RNA-seq data, TFs commonly exhibit quantitative "shifts" in isoform expression across conditions, with a smaller fraction showing dramatic on/off "switch" events, particularly in developmental contexts
March 26, 2025 at 6:06 PM
in RNA-seq data, TFs commonly exhibit quantitative "shifts" in isoform expression across conditions, with a smaller fraction showing dramatic on/off "switch" events, particularly in developmental contexts