Balu Addepalli

Biography

Bala Addepalli is a Biochemist with broad research interests in analytical biochemistry, molecular biology, mass spectrometry (MS)-based characterization and structural determination of proteins and nucleic acids. He described the type and nature of viral nucleic acids along with their protein coding potential during his PhD studies. His postdoctoral studies with Prof. Arthur Hunt had identified the existence of novel RNA processing endonuclease in plant polyadenylation apparatus besides unravelling the molecular characteristics of poly(A) polymerases and other key polyadenylation subunit factors. He joined with Prof. Patrick Limbach to develop MS-approaches for detection and quantification of mass-silent nucleoside modification, pseudouridine, and other posttranscriptional modifications in RNA. Current work includes development of novel nucleobase-specific ribonucleases and understanding the effect of radiation on cellular RNA and RNA modifications. He was inducted into the faculty as Assistant Professor-Research at Department of Chemistry in August 2013.

Research Interest

His research interests revolve around development of molecular tools, such as development of novel ribonucleases for sequencing nucleoside modifications (extra chemical groups attached to nucleosides - A, G, C, U) in RNA; understanding the biological significance of nucleoside (post-transcriptional) and amino acid (post-translational) modifications; and evolving viable biochemical tools and approaches for mapping chemical modifications in RNA. Other area of interest is to unravel the potential role of nucleoside modifications in facilitating DNA damage response following radiation exposure, and radiation induced effects on RNA and RNA modifications. These mass spectrometry-based approaches could help in identification of potential biomarker molecules that reflect an altered metabolic state or biological condition.