Welcome to the:
We are a group of RNA enthusiasts working on unsolved scientific mysteries related to human health and disease. Our group is particularly interested in the biochemistry of different RNases and the effects of their activation in human cells.
Latest News
Welcome Anakha!
We are excited to welcome Anakha Shah as our OSU SURE summer intern. Looking forward to a great summer of research!
Welcome Daniel, Gabby & Sydney!
Graduate students Daniel, Gabby and Sydney joined the lab. Congratulations!
New Publication in RNA!
Our latest work “Stalled translation on transcripts cleaved by RNase L” is now out in the journal RNA.
CRB Seed Grant Awarded
The lab has received new funding for a collaborative project with the van Hoof lab to explore the connection between ISR and tRNA introns.
Research Areas
RNases can cause the Ribotoxic Stress Response (RSR)
PolyA tail remodeling during the innate immune response
How do RNA modifications influence the innate immune response?
Collaboration with the van Hoof lab
How do lack of tRNA introns cause the Integrated Stress Response?
Selected Publications
- Karasik, A. et al. (2026). “Stalled translation on transcripts cleaved by RNase L activates signaling important for innate immunity.” RNA.
- Karasik, A. (2024). “The unusual role of Ribonuclease L in innate immunity, (review)” WIRES RNA.
- Karasik, A. (2024). “Endonucleolytic RNA cleavage drives changes in gene expression during the innate immune response” Cell Reports.
- Karasik, A. (2021). “RNase L mediated antiviral response triggers translation of non-coding mRNA sequences,” Nucleic Acid Research.
Our Team
Agnes Karasik, PhD
Principal Investigator
B.Sc./M.Sc. at Eötvös Loránd UniversityPh.D. at USUHS
Postdoc at NIH
Allysan Nunes
Research Technician
Ally graduated from Slippery Rock University and she is currently leading a project investigating changes in RNA modifications during the innate immune response.
Sydney Townsend
Graduate student (Biomedical Sciences)
Sydney graduated from North Carolina A&T State University. She is interested in polyA tail changes during the innate immune response and developing bioinfomatics pipelines and analyses.
Daniel Morgan
Graduate student (Molecular Genetics)
Daniel graduated from SUNY Brockport. He is interested in consequences of RNA breakage and cleavage in context of Cas13 enzymes.
Gabriella Proctor
Graduate student (Molecular Genetics)
Gabby graduated from Southern Utah University. She is interested in how RNA cleavage play a role during angiogenesis.
Anakha Shah
OSU SURE summer intern
Past rotation students:
Maddie Goodman (OSBP)
Caleb Clark (MCDB)
Past lab members:
Kenzie Scarpitti, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Kenzie graduated from The Ohio State University. During her graduate studies she investigated the molecular mechanisms of translational control focusing on FMRP. As a postdoctoral fellow, she was interested in gene expression during the innate immune response. She is currently a Biologist at Battelle.
Contact
We are always looking for RNA lovers to join the Karasik Lab.
Email: karasik.8@osu.edu
Location: Biological Sciences Building, Room 774