Douglas Lyne Black

Douglas Lyne Black is a Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology (MIMG) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), affiliated with the School of Medicine. He holds a BA in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz (1982) and a PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University (1987). His research focuses on RNA splicing regulation and its role in cellular differentiation, disease, and gene expression. Dr. Black's work explores how alternative splicing contributes to neuronal diversity and dysfunction in cancer, neurodegeneration, and inherited disorders.

His research is supported by multiple NIH grants, including principal investigator roles on projects studying PTB and Rbfox proteins' roles in gene regulation (R35GM136426), Myc-driven splicing in prostate cancer (R01CA220238), and sexually dimorphic splicing in the brain (R01MH109166). Collaborative work includes ribonomic studies of innate immune responses (U01HG007912) and genomic splicing measurements (R24GM070857).

Key research interests include RNA metabolism, RNA-binding protein structures, and posttranscriptional regulation in neurons. His lab investigates how splicing regulators like PTB, Rbfox, and XIST influence gene expression programs, with applications to human health. Notable contributions include discoveries on splicing mechanisms in cancer, neurobiology, and stem cell differentiation.