Deciphering Genome Diversity With The Nutrient Environment

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Vision

Our laboratory is committed to identifying and developing the best therapies for human diseases by advancing our understanding of the nutrient environment and mRNA translation.

 

Why Study mRNA Translation and the Nutrient Environment

The diversity of human phenotypes are ultimately driven by the differences in our individual genomes and their interaction with the environment. To date, we still do not completely understand how human phenotypes are driven by genetics and their response to changes in the environment. At the same time, the role, contribution, and impact of all mutations in cancers are not well understood.

In cells, DNA act as a genetic blueprint for the production of proteins that work to regulate life-essential cellular processes, such as cell growth, death, adaptation, structure, and migration. DNA is first copied into messenger RNA (mRNA) through a process known as transcription, and then the information on mRNA is used to make proteins by a process known as mRNA translation. This entire process relies on several elegant and well-ordered actions carried out by various cellular machines. The genetic code is a string of three nucleotide bases (A, G, C, T/U) called a “codon” that corresponds to a specific amino acid (or stop codon) during mRNA translation. There are 61 codons corresponding to one of the 20 amino acids and 3 stop codons in humans. Besides methionine and tryptophan, which have one codon each, there are two to six codons for the remaining 18 amino acids. How differences in our genetic code affect our response to the environment is not clear .

Nutrients can regulate multiple steps needed to translate genes into proteins in humans, including transcription, mRNA translation initiation, and mRNA translation elongation. Our laboratory’s research goal is to decipher the laws and regulatory mechanisms of genetic diversity on mRNA translation in response to various nutrient environments, understand their roles in human health and disease, and ultimately harness our findings to identify novel therapeutic targets to improve the outcome of patients.

Genome Diversity

On average, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) occur once for every 1,000 nucleotides. This means that every person carries approximately 4-5 million SNPs. In addition, cancers can exhibit high mutational burden that contribute to disease progression. We are interested in how SNPs and mutations in human health and disease can affect mRNA translation in response to nutrients.

Amino Acids

There are 20 canonical amino acids that are essential building blocks of life. They participate in many cellular processes, including metabolism, mRNA translation and protein synthesis. Amino acid levels can fluctuate depending on our diet, our genetics, and in disease. We seek to understand how amino acids can regulate mRNA translation in human health and disease, such as cancer.

Oxygen

Oxygen is important for many biological processes, including mitochondrial respiration, reactive oxygen species, and are utilized by oxygen-dependent enzymes. Oxygen levels can vary in our environment as well as in our tissues under normal and pathophysiological states. Our goal is to understand how oxygen can be used to regulate mRNA translation in human health and disease.

Tool Development

Innovative technologies are needed to study the interplay between the nutrient environment and mRNA translation. We are interested in developing new molecular and biochemical tools to address fundamental questions related to mRNA translation. Using these tools, we aim to elucidate the role of mRNA translation in health and disease in response to the nutrient environment.

“Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.”

― Richard Feynman


Team

Dr. Robert S. Banh
 
“Anything is possible until proven otherwise”

  • Post-doctoral fellow – Department of Radiation Oncology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Drs. Alec Kimmelman and Michael Pacold alumnus
  • PhD – Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Dr. Benjamin Neel alumnus
  • BSc – Life Sciences, University of Toronto

Dr. Robert Banh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He is affiliated with the Molecular Oncology and Tumor Immunology program at the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at NYU Langone Health.

Dr. Banh earned his Ph.D. in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto under the mentorship of Dr. Benjamin Neel. He then carried out postdoctoral training in cancer biology and metabolism as a Damon Runyon Research Fellow at the Department of Radiation Oncology at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine under the mentorship of Drs. Alec Kimmelman and Michael Pacold. He joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at New York University Grossman School of Medicine in 2021.

E-mail: robert.banh(at)nyulangone.org

 

Lab Members

Lab Members

Megan Korn

Research Technician

Lab Members

Dr. Veronica Costiniti

Postdoctoral Fellow

Lab Members

Now Recruiting

Postdoctoral Fellow

Lab Members

Now Recruiting

Graduate Student

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Postdoctoral Fellows
Prospective postdoctoral fellows should send a C.V., cover letter and three professional reference letters to Dr. Banh directly to discuss potential training opportunities.

 

Graduate Students
Prospective graduate students first should apply to the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. We welcome all students in the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences training programs to contact Dr. Banh to discuss potential rotation possibilities.

 

STEM Scientists
We are currently searching for a research technician for the lab. Applicants should have a strong background in molecular biology and biochemistry. However, we also encourage highly motivated and self-driven applicants in any of the biomedical sciences to apply.

Latest News

Publications

Banh RS, Kim ES, Spillier Q, Biancur DE, Yamamoto K, Sohn ASW, Shi G, Jones DR, Kimmelman AC, Pacold ME. The polar oxy-metabolome reveals the 4-hydroxymandelate CoQ10 synthesis pathway. Nature. 2021. Epub 2021/09/03. PubMed PMID: 34471290.

Mukhopadhyay S, Biancur DE, Parker SJ, Yamamoto K, Banh RS, Paulo JA, Mancias JD, Kimmelman AC. Autophagy is required for proper cysteine homeostasis in pancreatic cancer through regulation of SLC7A11. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Feb 9;118(6) PubMed Central ID: PMC8017731.

Biancur DE, Kapner KS, Yamamoto K, Banh RS, Neggers JE, Sohn ASW, Wu W, Manguso RT, Brown A, Root DE, Aguirre AJ, Kimmelman AC. Functional Genomics Identifies Metabolic Vulnerabilities in Pancreatic Cancer. Cell Metab. 2021 Jan 5;33(1):199-210.e8. PubMed Central ID: PMC7790858.

Banh RS, Biancur DE, Yamamoto K, Sohn ASW, Walters B, Kuljanin M, Gikandi A, Wang H, Mancias JD, Schneider RJ, Pacold ME, Kimmelman AC. Neurons Release Serine to Support mRNA Translation in Pancreatic Cancer. Cell. 2020 Nov 25;183(5):1202-1218.e25. PubMed Central ID: PMC8100789.

Yamamoto K, Venida A, Yano J, Biancur DE, Kakiuchi M, Gupta S, Sohn ASW, Mukhopadhyay S, Lin EY, Parker SJ, Banh RS, Paulo JA, Wen KW, Debnath J, Kim GE, Mancias JD, Fearon DT, Perera RM, Kimmelman AC. Autophagy promotes immune evasion of pancreatic cancer by degrading MHC-I. Nature. 2020 May;581(7806):100-105. PubMed Central ID: PMC7296553.

Cimmino L, Dolgalev I, Wang Y, Yoshimi A, Martin GH, Wang J, Ng V, Xia B, Witkowski MT, Mitchell-Flack M, Grillo I, Bakogianni S, Ndiaye-Lobry D, Martín MT, Guillamot M, Banh RS, Xu M, Figueroa ME, Dickins RA, Abdel-Wahab O, Park CY, Tsirigos A, Neel BG, Aifantis I. Restoration of TET2 Function Blocks Aberrant Self-Renewal and Leukemia Progression. Cell. 2017 Sep 7;170(6):1079-1095.e20. PubMed Central ID: PMC5755977.

Banh RS, Iorio C, Marcotte R, Xu Y, Cojocari D, Rahman AA, Pawling J, Zhang W, Sinha A, Rose CM, Isasa M, Zhang S, Wu R, Virtanen C, Hitomi T, Habu T, Sidhu SS, Koizumi A, Wilkins SE, Kislinger T, Gygi SP, Schofield CJ, Dennis JW, Wouters BG, Neel BG. PTP1B controls non-mitochondrial oxygen consumption by regulating RNF213 to promote tumour survival during hypoxia. Nat Cell Biol. 2016 Jul;18(7):803-813. PubMed Central ID: PMC4936519.

Banh RS, Xu Y, Neel BG. New pROSpects for PTP1B: micro-managing oncogene-induced senescence. Mol Cell. 2014 Sep 4;55(5):651-3. PubMed ID: 25192363.

“A scientist in his laboratory is not a mere technician: he is also a child confronting natural phenomena that impress him as though they were fairy tales.”
― Marie Curie


Contact us

Lab Phone:
Office: (646)-754-2689
Lab: (646)-501-2845

Address
Alexandria Center for Life Science East Tower
450 East 29th Street
8th floor, Room 822, Banh Lab
New York, NY, 10016
USA

Email:
rbanhlab@gmail.com