Prerna Malaney

Prerna Malaney serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Dartmouth College with dual affiliation at the Dartmouth Cancer Center. Since establishing her independent laboratory in March 2023, she leads research focused on RNA dysregulation mechanisms in oncogenesis using integrated biochemical, molecular, and in vivo approaches.

• Bachelor of Pharmacy from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India
• Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from University of South Florida
• Postdoctoral training at MD Anderson Cancer Center

Her research program investigates how RNA-binding proteins and RNA processing pathways maintain cellular homeostasis and how their dysregulation establishes therapeutic vulnerabilities in malignancies. The lab specializes in identifying critical nodes within tumor suppressor and oncogenic networks, with emphasis on ribosome biogenesis, translation control, and mutation-driven pathogenesis. Current work combines molecular cloning, mouse modeling, and computational approaches including AlphaFold structural analysis to develop novel cancer therapeutics.

No scientific awards were documented in the source materials.

Dr. Malaney actively mentors a multidisciplinary research team comprising graduate students John Zientko (Cancer Biology PhD candidate studying RNA-binding proteins in ribosome biogenesis) and Paige Blinkiewicz (graduate researcher investigating mutation impacts), alongside undergraduate Ulysses Hill and research assistant Nicole Blackwood. She maintains strong commitment to scientific training through structured mentorship in experimental design and career development. No grant funding details were specified in available documentation.

The Malaney Lab operates within the Williamson Translational Research Building, employing techniques spanning molecular biology, mouse modeling, and computational analysis. Current projects include plasmid engineering through site-directed mutagenesis, structural impact modeling of protein mutations, and development of MATLAB-based data analysis pipelines to characterize RNA-protein interactions in cancer pathogenesis.