Katsura Asano, PhD

Division of Biology
kasano@ksu.edu
Departmental Website

Feature story in JCRC's 2020 Conquest magazine

The central dogma of gene expression states that DNA makes RNA that makes proteins. Proteins are synthesized on a small cellular particle called the ribosome. We study fundamental processes important for the ribosome to start protein synthesis in model eukaryotic cells including human cancer cells. By studying how a specific triplet of ribonucleotide bases—messenger RNA building blocks—serves as a start site for ribosomes’ protein synthesis, we determine what causes the alterations in gene expression that often lead to cancer. By gaining a better understanding of how cancer is generated by genetic lesions, we help develop drug therapies to correct these errors.