Heads of Laboratories DNA diversification processes are widely
used to diversify cellular proteomes, for example to generate
antibodies against pathogen entry. Many pathogens have evolved
similar mechanisms to alter their surface antigens, thereby
evading the antibody response. Cells and organisms have also
evolved to alter their RNA with specific outcomes such as
genetic code recoding or gene expression reprogramming. Dr.
Papavasiliou’s research focuses on the different molecular
processes that cells and organisms employ to diversify and
expand the information encoded in their genomes. Using a
combination of biochemistry and genetics, Dr. Papavasiliou is
studying the molecular basis of the specific type of DNA
mutation that underlies the diversification of antibodies in the
B lymphocytes of the immune system. When B cells, specialized
cells that produce antibodies against foreign molecules,
encounter an antigen, mutations are introduced in the genes of
their B cell receptors that recognize that antigen. This