During her PhD studies, Katrine Mandrup Nielsen researched the basic mechanisms of the mammalian cell. The genes dictate the basic mechanisms of the cell. The genes are always located in the cell nucleus. Therefore, the genes are copied into RNA that is transported to different locations in the cell where it is translated.

Recently, a new class of RNA called circular RNA was discovered. This class of RNA is different than other types of RNA and has been identified in all cells studied to date. It is still unknown how circular RNA is produced and it functions in the cells. Therefore, Katrine Mandrup Nielsen has investigated the features of circular RNA and revealed prime features involved in the production of function of circular RNA.

The new research findings both contribute to the overall understanding of circular RNA and reveal important features for certain types of circular RNA.

The PhD study was completed at Institute of molecular biology and genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday, 24 April 2020 at 13:00
Place: Online. To obtain the link to the defence please send an email to emf@mbg.au.dk 
Title of PhD thesis: Biogenesis and Function of Circular RNA

Members of the assessment committee:

Associate Professor Marie-Laure Baudet, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Italy

Professor Brage Storstein Andresen, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

Associate Professor Ernst-Martin Füchtbauer, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus university (chair)

Main supervisor:
Thomas Birkballe Hansen, Institute of molecular biology, Aarhus University, Denmark

Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Science and Technology/GSST,
Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C.