Rate My Professor Ian Eperon

Professor Eperon's research specializes in the mechanisms of mammalian pre-mRNA splicing, encompassing splice site selection, regulation of alternative splicing by sequence motifs, RNA secondary structures such as G-quadruplexes, and proteins including PTB, SR proteins, and U1 snRNP. His laboratory employs advanced single-molecule fluorescence microscopy in crude nuclear extracts to study the dynamics, stoichiometries, and competition in spliceosome assembly and RNA-protein complexes. Early landmark contributions include determining the sequence and organization of the human mitochondrial genome (Nature, 1981; 13,301 citations) and the complete bovine mitochondrial DNA sequence (Nature, 1982; 1,923 citations). Subsequent work advanced splicing modulation, such as antisense oligoribonucleotides to restore dystrophin expression in mdx muscle cells (Human Molecular Genetics, 1998) and bifunctional oligonucleotides enhancing SMN2 exon 7 splicing for spinal muscular atrophy (Human Molecular Genetics, 2003). Recent publications feature exon-independent recruitment of SRSF1 by U1 snRNP (EMBO Journal, 2022) and biophysical analysis of Bcl-x pre-mRNA G-quadruplex interactions (Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 2022). These efforts extend to therapeutic strategies redirecting splicing in genetic diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cancers. His scholarship, with over 17,000 citations, has profoundly shaped RNA biology and splicing therapeutics.