The Jessica Sheu-Gruttadauria Lab

The Sheu-Gruttadauria Lab asks fundamental questions about how the cell organizes gene expression. We are particularly interested in biomolecular condensates, a class of membraneless cellular compartments that concentrate factors involved in nearly every step of RNA metabolism from transcription to decay. Recent work suggests that condensates may form through biological phase transitions, creating microenvironments that exhibit distinctively dynamic biophysical features. However, defining the functional role of condensates and their unique biophysical properties remains exceptionally challenging. Meeting this gap is critical for human health, as condensates are often disrupted in degenerative diseases and cancers. The lab takes an interdisciplinary approach that spans structural biology, biochemistry, molecular and systems cell biology to mechanistically uncover how biomolecular condensates and their assembly features influence RNA metabolism in the cell— with the goal of better understanding the functional role of condensates in homeostasis and illuminating novel vulnerabilities in disease.