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Mandana Sassanfar, Ph.D.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

My scientific interests are focused on two main areas: DNA repair and mutagenesis, and small RNAs. I am particularly interested in tRNAs that play a fundamental role in protein translation. tRNAs are small (~76-bases long), and yet each tRNA molecule interacts with a battery of proteins involved in such varied processes as tRNA modification, tRNA processing, tRNA aminoacylation, translation initiation or elongation, and the ribosome. In fact, any given tRNA molecule interacts with at least 15 different proteins, some yet uncharacterized! One of the areas not well understood is the specific function of the modified bases found in tRNAs and the enzymes that introduce these modifications. Many tRNA modifications are very highly conserved yet not essential. However, several modifications in the anti-codon of tRNAs have been shown to be essential. I have investigated the effect of a very specific and essential modification found only in the anti-codon of tRNAile in bacteria on cross-species aminoacylation by eukaryotic isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase and hope to do a similar investigation in yeast once I return to active research. My other interests are high school and college science outreach. I organize and lead various programs that focus on science teachers training, curriculum development, hands-on activities for high school students, and volunteer work with area high schools. In addition I oversee a summer research internship program in biology for undergraduates from other institutions at MIT. I am also co-Master of Winthrop house and have the tremendous privilege of living among Harvard undergraduates.