Francesca Tuorto

Dr. Francesca Tuorto is a Professor at the Department of Biochemistry, Mannheim Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University. Her research focuses on RNA epigenetics and tRNA modifications, particularly the roles of 5-methylcytidine and queuosine in protein synthesis regulation. She uses Caenorhabditis elegans and Mus musculus as model organisms to study how tRNA modifications impact development and physiology.

• Key Projects:
• Queuosine’s role in sex-dependent learning
• 5-methylcytosine’s role in stress adaptation
• Computational tools for ribosome profiling (RiboVIEW)
• Techniques: Ribosome profiling, CRISPR-based knockout models, mass spectrometry

Her work bridges molecular mechanisms of RNA modifications with organismal biology, emphasizing translational control and disease relevance.