Hi! I’m currently a Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies PhD student at Columbia University Irving Medical Center working in the Steckelberg Lab. I’m interested in how RNA biology impacts cellular processes, particularly in the context of RNA viruses.
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I graduated from Emory University, where I worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Heemstra Lab and majored in chemistry with a minor in mathematics. Afterwards, I worked as a research technician in the Banh Lab at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where I led a project deciphering the role of mRNA mistranslation in cancer.
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Check out some of the publications I’ve contributed to:
Nuthanakanti A, Korn M, Levenson-Palmer R, Wu Y, Babu NR, Huang X, Banh RS, Belasco JG, Serganov A. 2025. ApaH decaps Np4N-capped RNAs in two alternative orientations. Nature Chemical Biology 1-11. doi:10.1038/s41589-025-01991-4
Shi G, Miller C, Kuno S, Rey Hipolito AG, El Nagar S, Riboldi GM, Korn M, Tran WC, Wang Z, Ficaro L, Lin T, Spillier Q, Gamallo-Lana B, Jones DR, Snuderl M, Song SC, Mar AC, Joyner AL, Sillitoe RV, Banh RS, Pacold ME. 2025. Coenzyme Q headgroup intermediates can ameliorate a mitochondrial encephalopathy. Nature 1–9. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09246-x
Purchal MK, Eyler DE, Tardu M, Franco MK, Korn MM, Khan T, McNassor R, Giles R, Lev K, Sharma H, Monroe J, Mallik L, Koutmos M, Koutmou KS. 2022. Pseudouridine synthase 7 is an opportunistic enzyme that binds and modifies substrates with diverse sequences and structures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119:e2109708119. doi:10.1073/pnas.2109708119
Knutson SD, Sanford AA, Swenson CS, Korn MM, Manuel BA, Heemstra JM. 2020. Thermoreversible Control of Nucleic Acid Structure and Function with Glyoxal Caging. J Am Chem Soc 142:17766–17781. doi:10.1021/jacs.0c08996
Knutson SD, Korn MM, Johnson RP, Monteleone LR, Dailey DM, Swenson CS, Beal PA, Heemstra JM. 2020. Chemical Profiling of A-to-I RNA Editing Using a Click-Compatible Phenylacrylamide. Chemistry – A European Journal 26:9874–9878. doi:10.1002/chem.202001667
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I’m also passionate about ecology, conservation, and mentorship. Outside of the lab you can find me volunteering with Riverside Park Conservancy, organizing symposia for NYC-area RNA enthusiasts with Tri-I RNA club, bird-watching in NYC’s species-rich parks, and mentoring NYC high schoolers towards achieving their college dreams with Minds Matter.
