Phillips lab

Small RNA pathways protect the genome from foreign RNAs, including viruses, while also regulating endogenous RNAs such as aberrant transcripts, pseudogenes, and non-coding regions. The Phillips Lab uses genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry to understand how RNA silencing pathways promote proper gene expression and maintain germline integrity and totipotency. Our research provides fundamental insight into how RNA silencing pathways suppress transposon mobilization and repress aberrant transcripts, thereby preventing deleterious mutations that can lead to infertility, birth defects, cancer, and other diseases.