Nina Papavasiliou

Papavasiliou received her Bachelors of Science from Oberlin College in biology in 1992. She then completed her PhD at the Rockefeller University in Michel C. Nussenzweig's Laboratory of Molecular Immunology. There, she began studying how B cell antigen receptors—or antibodies anchored to the cell membrane—undergo mutation so they can specifically recognize a particular antigen and elicit an immune response.{{Cite journal|date=1997-04-01|title=Control of immunoglobulin gene rearrangements in developing B cells|journal=Current Opinion in Immunology|language=en|volume=9|issue=2|pages=233–238|doi=10.1016/S0952-7915(97)80141-0|pmid=9099793|issn=0952-7915|last1=Papavasiliou|first1=Fotini|last2=Jankovic|first2=Mila|last3=Gong|first3=Shiaoching|last4=Nussenzweig|first4=Michel C.}}{{Cite journal|last1=Papavasiliou|first1=Fotini|last2=Casellas|first2=Rafael|last3=Suh|first3=Heikyung|last4=Qin|first4=Xiao-Feng|last5=Besmer|first5=Eva|last6=Pelanda|first6=Roberta|last7=Nemazee|first7=David|last8=Rajewsky|first8=Klaus|last9=Nussenzweig|first9=Michel C.|date=1997-10-10|title=V(D)J Recombination in Mature B Cells: A Mechanism for Altering Antibody Responses|journal=Science|language=en|volume=278|issue=5336|pages=298–301|doi=10.1126/science.278.5336.298|issn=0036-8075|pmid=9323210}} She followed that interest to the Yale School of Medicine, where she worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of David G. Schatz.{{Cite journal|last1=Papavasiliou|first1=F. Nina|last2=Schatz|first2=David G.|date=November 2000|title=Cell-cycle-regulated DNA double-strand breaks in somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes|journal=Nature|language=En|volume=408|issue=6809|pages=216–221|doi=10.1038/35041599|pmid=11089977|s2cid=4407389|issn=0028-0836}}{{Cite journal|last1=Papavasiliou|first1=F.Nina|last2=Schatz|first2=David G|date=April 2002|title=Somatic Hypermutation of Immunoglobulin Genes|journal=Cell|language=en|volume=109|issue=2|pages=S35–S44|doi=10.1016/S0092-8674(02)00706-7|pmid=11983151|s2cid=15533869|issn=0092-8674|doi-access=free}}

Papavasiliou's research centers on demystifying how cells and organisms diversify and expand the information encoded in their genomes, both at the DNA and RNA level. She opened her Laboratory of Lymphocyte Biology at Rockefeller University in 2001 as an assistant professor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/tri-institutional-professors/884-f-nina-papavasiliou/|title=F. Nina Papavasiliou - Our Scientists|work=Our Scientists|access-date=2018-07-03|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703075353/https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/tri-institutional-professors/884-f-nina-papavasiliou/|archive-date=2018-07-03|url-status=dead}} Much of her group's early work was done in the context of the adaptive immune response, which is able to combat a wide array of pathogens seeking to invade the host by rapidly generating novel antibodies that are able to specifically recognize a given invader. Her group has worked to characterize the activity of an enzyme known as activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID).{{Cite journal|last1=Dickerson|first1=Sarah K.|last2=Market|first2=Eleonora|last3=Besmer|first3=Eva|last4=Papavasiliou|first4=F. Nina|date=2003-05-19|title=AID mediates hypermutation by deaminating single stranded DNA|journal=The Journal of Experimental Medicine|volume=197|issue=10|pages=1291–1296|doi=10.1084/jem.20030481|issn=0022-1007|pmc=2193777|pmid=12756266}}{{Cite journal|last1=Besmer|first1=Eva|last2=Market|first2=Eleonora|last3=Papavasiliou|first3=F. Nina|date=June 2006|title=The transcription elongation complex directs activation-induced cytidine deaminase-mediated DNA deamination|journal=Molecular and Cellular Biology|volume=26|issue=11|pages=4378–4385|doi=10.1128/MCB.02375-05|issn=0270-7306|pmc=1489098|pmid=16705187}} AID changes cytidine (C) residues to uracil (U) in DNA, which is recognized as DNA damage and repaired in such a way that introduces thymidine (T), effectively mutating Cs to Ts in DNA. The process is known as somatic hypermutation and is how B cells can rapidly introduce DNA mutations into receptors that recognize the invaders, known as antigens. Papavasiliou's lab has worked to understand how AID expression is regulated in the immune system and how AID targets certain genes for mutation.{{Cite journal|last1=Crouch|first1=Elizabeth E.|last2=Li|first2=Zhiyu|last3=Takizawa|first3=Makiko|last4=Fichtner-Feigl|first4=Stefan|last5=Gourzi|first5=Polyxeni|last6=Montaño|first6=Carolina|last7=Feigenbaum|first7=Lionel|last8=Wilson|first8=Patrick|last9=Janz|first9=Siegfried|date=2007-05-14|title=Regulation of AID expression in the immune response|journal=The Journal of Experimental Medicine|volume=204|issue=5|pages=1145–1156|doi=10.1084/jem.20061952|issn=0022-1007|pmc=2118564|pmid=17452520}}{{Cite journal|last1=Teng|first1=Grace|last2=Hakimpour|first2=Paul|last3=Landgraf|first3=Pablo|last4=Rice|first4=Amanda|last5=Tuschl|first5=Thomas|last6=Casellas|first6=Rafael|last7=Papavasiliou|first7=F. Nina|date=May 2008|title=MicroRNA-155 is a negative regulator of activation-induced cytidine deaminase|journal=Immunity|volume=28|issue=5|pages=621–629|doi=10.1016/j.immuni.2008.03.015|issn=1097-4180|pmc=2430982|pmid=18450484}}{{Cite journal|last1=Delker|first1=Rebecca K.|last2=Zhou|first2=Yanjiao|last3=Strikoudis|first3=Alexandros|last4=Stebbins|first4=C. Erec|last5=Papavasiliou|first5=F. Nina|date=2013-01-15|title=Solubility-based genetic screen identifies RING finger protein 126 as an E3 ligase for activation-induced cytidine deaminase|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=110|issue=3|pages=1029–1034|doi=10.1073/pnas.1214538110|issn=1091-6490|pmc=3549133|pmid=23277564|doi-access=free}}

Papavasiliou also studies RNA editing in the context of the innate immune response using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics approaches to identify and characterize RNA editing targets. Her group first identified novel RNA editing targets of APOBEC1, which mutates a cytosine to a uracil in an RNA transcript, and was previously thought to only edit Apolipoprotein B (apoB) in the small intestine.{{Cite journal|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Brad R.|last2=Hamilton|first2=Claire E.|last3=Mwangi|first3=Michael M.|last4=Dewell|first4=Scott|last5=Papavasiliou|first5=F. Nina|date=February 2011|title=Transcriptome-wide sequencing reveals numerous APOBEC1 mRNA-editing targets in transcript 3' UTRs|journal=Nature Structural & Molecular Biology|volume=18|issue=2|pages=230–236|doi=10.1038/nsmb.1975|issn=1545-9985|pmc=3075553|pmid=21258325}} Her group has since moved on to attempt to characterize the potential role APOBEC1-editing may be playing outside of its function with apoB.{{Cite journal|last1=Rayon-Estrada|first1=Violeta|last2=Harjanto|first2=Dewi|last3=Hamilton|first3=Claire E.|last4=Berchiche|first4=Yamina A.|last5=Gantman|first5=Emily Conn|last6=Sakmar|first6=Thomas P.|last7=Bulloch|first7=Karen|last8=Gagnidze|first8=Khatuna|last9=Harroch|first9=Sheila|date=December 12, 2017|title=Epitranscriptomic profiling across cell types reveals associations between APOBEC1-mediated RNA editing, gene expression outcomes, and cellular function|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=114|issue=50|pages=13296–13301|doi=10.1073/pnas.1714227114|issn=1091-6490|pmc=5740640|pmid=29167373|doi-access=free}}

Papavasiliou most recently branched out to studying mechanisms of antigenic variation—or how pathogens vary their surface proteins to escape the immune response—using Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite that causes African sleeping sickness, as a model organism. Her group has developed new tools to better understand the dynamics of protein coat switching in trypanosomes, and is working to better understand the mechanisms by which trypanosomes are able to diversify their coat proteins over the course of an infection.{{Cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090415141210.htm|title=Parasite Breaks Its Own DNA To Avoid Detection|work=ScienceDaily|access-date=2018-07-03|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/ru-ssn120415.php|title=Study suggests new way to help the immune system fight off sleeping sickness parasite|website=EurekAlert!|language=en|access-date=2018-07-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/p-ssn120415.php|title=Study suggests new way to help the immune system fight off parasite|website=EurekAlert!|language=en|access-date=2018-07-03}}

In 2016, Papavasiliou moved to the German Cancer Research Center to begin her lab in the Division of Immune Diversity with additional support from a European Research Council Consolidator Grant.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dkfz.de/en/immundiversitaet/index.php|title=Immune Diversity|website=www.dkfz.de|language=en|access-date=2018-07-03}}{{Cite news|url=https://erc.europa.eu/projects-figures/erc-funded-projects/results?search_api_views_fulltext=papavasiliou|title=ERC FUNDED PROJECTS|work=ERC: European Research Council|access-date=2018-07-03|language=en}}

• Keck Fellow, 2002{{Cite news|url=https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/visiting-professors/884-f-nina-papavasiliou/|title=F. Nina Papavasiliou - Our Scientists|work=Our Scientists|access-date=2018-10-10|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011014004/https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/visiting-professors/884-f-nina-papavasiliou/|archive-date=2018-10-11|url-status=dead}}
• Searle Scholar, 2003{{Cite web|url=http://www.searlescholars.net/person/88|title=Searle Scholars Program : F. Nina Papavasiliou (2003)|website=www.searlescholars.net|language=en|access-date=2018-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703075822/http://www.searlescholars.net/person/88|archive-date=2018-07-03|url-status=dead}}
• Sinsheimer Fund Scholar, 2005{{Cite news|url=https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/visiting-professors/884-f-nina-papavasiliou/|title=F. Nina Papavasiliou - Our Scientists|work=Our Scientists|access-date=2018-10-10|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011014004/https://www.rockefeller.edu/our-scientists/visiting-professors/884-f-nina-papavasiliou/|archive-date=2018-10-11|url-status=dead}}
• Thorbecke Award, Society for Leukocyte Biology, 2006{{Cite web|url=https://www.leukocytebiology.org/g-jeanette-thorbecke-award|title=G. Jeanette Thorbecke Award|last=Holland|first=Jennifer|website=www.leukocytebiology.org|language=en-us|access-date=2018-07-03}}
• The Vilcek Foundation Prize Finalist for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science, 2009{{Cite web|url=http://www.vilcek.org/prizes/prize-recipients/2009/finalists.html|title=The Vilcek Foundation - Finalists|website=www.vilcek.org|access-date=2018-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703075348/http://www.vilcek.org/prizes/prize-recipients/2009/finalists.html|archive-date=2018-07-03|url-status=dead}}
• National Institutes of Health Director’s Transformative Research Project Award, 2011{{Cite web|url=https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?projectnumber=1R01AI097127-01|title=Project Information - NIH RePORTER - NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results|last=generator|first=metatags|website=projectreporter.nih.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-07-03}}

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Category:Greek women scientists

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Category:Greek immunologists