Kavitha Sarma

Dr. Kavitha Sarma is an Associate Professor at The Wistar Institute, where she leads research in the Genome Regulation and Cell Signaling Program within the Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center. Her work focuses on epigenetic gene regulation mechanisms, particularly examining how RNA-mediated processes impact cellular function and disease development.

Dr. Sarma earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from

• Rutgers University
• Postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School

Her research centers on the mechanisms of RNA-mediated epigenetic gene regulation, with special emphasis on R-loops - triplex nucleic acid structures comprising DNA:RNA hybrids and displaced single-stranded DNA. She investigates how these structures form during transcription, particularly in G-rich repetitive regions where they can adopt G-quadruplex (G4) structures. Her lab explores the roles of R-loops in neuronal cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, developing innovative techniques like MapR for genome-wide identification of native R-loops without antibody dependence.

Analysis of Dr. Sarma's publications reveals consistent focus on R-loop biology across nearly two decades, with recent work (2020-2025) increasingly examining the relationship between R-loops, G-quadruplex structures, and genome organization. Her research has evolved from foundational studies on chromatin modifiers to sophisticated investigations of how these nucleic acid structures influence CTCF binding, genome folding, and ultimately gene expression patterns in disease states.

Dr. Sarma mentors graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in her laboratory, guiding research that bridges biochemistry, cell biology, and functional genomics. Her team employs approaches including biochemical assays, cell and molecular biology techniques, and genome-wide analyses using embryonic stem cell, neural stem cell, and cancer cell models.

The Sarma Laboratory includes

• Postdoctoral Fellows: Michelle Lynskey, Shachin Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage, Phillip Wulfridge
• Graduate Students: Emanuel Forciniti, Kelvin Okpokpo
• Research Assistants: Kuo-Chen Fang
• Lab Technicians: Afrora Muca

Her lab investigates how epigenetic alterations impact neuronal cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, with the goal of identifying new pathways that can be targeted to correct epigenetic perturbations.