Ankur Jain

Ankur Jain is an Associate Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, affiliated with the Department of Biology and the Whitehead Institute. His research focuses on the role of RNA self-assembly in cellular organization and neurodegenerative disease. Jain's lab investigates how membrane-free cellular compartments, such as RNA granules, form and function, and develops new biochemical and biophysical techniques to study these processes. His work explores the dysfunction of these compartments in human disease.

Ankur Jain is a researcher in biophysics and RNA biology, focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying RNA phase transitions and their role in repeat expansion disorders. His work explores the dynamics of biomolecular condensates, including the formation and regulation of RNA granules and their implications in neurodegenerative diseases. Jain's research also involves single-molecule techniques to study protein interactions, such as single-molecule pull-down and fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy, to investigate the structural and functional properties of cellular complexes. Additionally, he examines the biophysical properties of RNA and DNA condensates, including their fluidity and sequence-encoded interactions, to understand their role in cellular processes. His studies contribute to the broader understanding of RNA biology and its relevance to disease mechanisms.