Department of Molecular Genetics

Guramrit Singh: Deciphering the messages of mRNA

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Associate professor of molecular genetics and 2026 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching recipient Guramrit Singh researches RNA, temporary copies of DNA used to make proteins. His lab studies mRNA quality control/surveillance that destroys faulty messages, noting links to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and to cancer strategies.

He also describes how he got into the field and what is next for his research, including differentiating  stem cells into different lineages to measure the presence and impact of specific proteins in surveillance pathways.

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Shuai Huang: Understanding How Plants Defend Themselves

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Shuai Huang, assistant professor of molecular genetics and NSF CAREER awardee, researches how plants defend themselves. Although plants lack specialized immune cells, each cell has immune receptors and can mount responses against bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, viruses, and other pathogens. Huang’s lab identifies genes, pathways, and signaling molecules involved in plant defense and discovered that many cellular molecules rapidly cluster into membrane-free “biomolecular condensates” via liquid-liquid phase separation, assembling quickly under stress and disassembling when the job is done.

Huang aims to engineer condensates to improve resistance without reducing growth and to study roles in mechanical and abiotic stress responses relevant to climate change and food security.

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Jaime Sabel: Scaffolding to Success

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Jaime Sabel, Associate Professor in Molecular Genetics and Director of the Center for Life Sciences Education (CLSE), discusses the CLSE’s role in housing the biology major and collaborating with other life sciences departments. Her FRAMER and MASTER educational scaffolds support students’ metacognitive skills to enhance their understanding of complex biological concepts. Sabel also highlights her STEM Ambassadors program which aims to bridge the gap between scientists and high school students, fostering better public communication of science. She concludes by sharing her journey from developmental genetics to biology education research and outlining future research directions for her lab.

Jaime Sabel PodcastDownload

Anna Dobritsa: Pollen – It’s More than Just an Allergen

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Anna Dobritsa, Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics at the Ohio State University, discusses with David Staley the intricacies of pollen development, focusing on the unique cell walls called exine. She explains the structures, functions, and variations in exine patterns among different plant species and addresses the role of pollen in plant reproduction. She also describes the technological advances that have enabled recent discoveries in this field, along with insights into the potential agricultural applications of manipulating pollen characteristics.

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Studying Cell Communication Offers Insight into Development of Embryos and Cancer, Says Susan Cole

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Susan Cole, Professor of Molecular Genetics at The Ohio State University College of the Arts and Sciences, joins David Staley on Voices of Excellence this week to discuss the role of cell communication in both the development of people from embryos to adults and the growth of cancer cells. 

Studying Cell Communication Offers Insight into Development of Embryos and Cancer, Says Susan Cole_otter_aiDownload