The RNA connection

A snapshot of joint projects by David Bartel's lab highlights the crucial role of collaborations

More than a third of the human genome is partially regulated by microRNAs—tiny snippets of RNA that can disable a gene’s ability to create proteins.

So it’s no surprise that the lab of Whitehead Member David Bartel, the first to report this surprisingly widespread role for microRNAs, has found many colleagues happy to collaborate. At the same time, “as our lab looks at the particular targets of particular microRNAs, then we become interested in what’s going on in other labs that specialize in those targets,” Bartel says.

Here’s a glimpse at some current connections for the 20-person lab—and it is just a glimpse. It shows only the principal investigators, not the postdocs and students who do all the bench work, let alone the ongoing streams of informal discussions.

View a large photo of the Bartel lab.