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Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis picture

Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis, Ph.D.

  • Center for Cancer Research
  • National Cancer Institute
Stadtman Investigator
RNA Biology Laboratory
NIH Distinguished Scholar
Head, Functional Transcriptomics Section

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis is a leading molecular biologist who has pioneered functional genomics strategies to study the function and regulation of alternative splicing. His laboratory has developed innovative CRISPR-based screening approaches to dissect critical alternative exons, introns, and other RNA processing events. By integrating CRISPR genetic screens with diverse phenotypic analyses, including cell fitness, splicing reporters, and single-cell transcriptomics, his team systematically explores the regulatory and functional complexity of pre-mRNA processing. The ultimate aim of his research is to harness these insights to devise novel therapeutic strategies for cancer and other diseases.

Areas of Expertise

Alternative Splicing
 CRISPR-Cas
Functional Genomics
Pre-mRNA processing

Publications

Selected Key Publications

Genome-scale exon perturbation screens uncover exons critical for cell fitness

Xiao MS, Damodaran AP, Kumari B, Dickson E, Xing K, On TA, Parab N, King HE, Perez AR, Guiblet WM, Duncan G, Che A, Chari R, Andresson T, Vidigal JA, Weatheritt RJ, Aregger M, Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis T.
Molecular Cell. 84(13): 2553-2572.e19, 2024.
Full-Text Article(link is external)
[ Journal Article ]

Application of CHyMErA Cas9-Cas12a combinatorial genome-editing platform for genetic interaction mapping and gene fragment deletion screening

Michael Aregger, Kun Xing & Thomas Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis
Nature Protocols. 16: 4722–4765, 2021.
Full-Text Article(link is external)
[ Journal Article ]

Genetic interaction mapping and exon-resolution functional genomics with a hybrid Cas9-Cas12a platform

Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis T, Aregger M, Brown KR, Farhangmehr S, Braunschweig U, Ward HN, Ha KCH, Weiss A, Billmann M, Durbic T, Myers CL, Blencowe BJ, Moffat J.
Nature Biotechnology. 38(5): 638-648, 2020.
Full-Text Article(link is external)
[ Journal Article ]

Autism-Misregulated eIF4G Microexons Control Synaptic Translation and Higher Order Cognitive Functions

Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis T, Niibori R, Salter EW, Weatheritt RJ, Tsang B, Farhangmehr S, Liang X, Braunschweig U, Roth J, Zhang S, Henderson T, Sharma E, Quesnel-Vallières M, Permanyer J, Maier S, Georgiou J, Irimia M, Sonenberg N, Forman-Kay JD, Gingras AC, Collingridge GL, Woodin MA, Cordes SP, Blencowe BJ.
Molecular Cell. 77(6): 1176-1192, 2020.
Full-Text Article(link is external)
[ Journal Article ]

Genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 Interrogation of Splicing Networks Reveals a Mechanism for Recognition of Autism-Misregulated Neuronal Microexons

Gonatopoulos-Pournatzis T, Wu M, Braunschweig U, Roth J, Han H, Best AJ, Raj B, Aregger M, O'Hanlon D, Ellis JD, Calarco JA, Moffat J, Gingras AC, Blencowe BJ.
Molecular Cell. 72(3): 510-524, 2018.
Full-Text Article(link is external)
[ Journal Article ]

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