Gabrielle (Gabby) Perkins

My research looks to identify non-coding RNA elements whose structural dynamics are used in adaptive responses of Drosophila melanogaster to high-altitude (i.e., low-oxygen) environments. Organisms exposed to environmental stressors must rapidly adjust their gene expression patterns to maintain cellular and physiological homeostasis. Previous work has shown that hypoxia tolerance in Drosophila involves changes in the expression of genes across multiple pathways. Yet, the regulatory contributions of non-coding RNA elements to these expression changes remain unexplored. My project investigates whether structural features within non-coding RNA regions are associated with hypoxia-responsive gene expression and may contribute to adaptive responses to low-oxygen environments.