Prof. Monica Pillon

All good things must come to an end, including RNA. How RNA is degraded in our cells is one of Prof. Monica Pillon’s major research interests. Dr. Pillon is an Assistant Professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, USA, and started her group in February 2021. Prior to her faculty appointment, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the NIH with Prof. Robin Stanley, where she studied an essential pre-rRNA processing complex, and a PhD student at McMaster University in Canada with Prof. Alba Guarné, where she characterized DNA mismatch repair complexes.

Prof. Pillon’s Lab investigates the molecular basis for RNA decay pathways using a combination of structural biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology. When asked to choose a favorite topic and being torn between cytoplasmic and mitochondrial mRNA decay, she chose the latter: “I will say that our mitochondrial RNA degradosome project is particularly exciting. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of many cancers. Despite this link, the underlying mechanisms by which mitochondrial function is hijacked by cancers remain unclear. Mitochondrial gene expression is almost exclusively regulated through post-transcriptional events, such as mitochondrial RNA (mtRNA) decay. The mitochondrial RNA degradosome is a multienzyme complex responsible for the bulk of mtRNA degradation. Yet, how this molecular machine precisely modulates the mitochondrial transcriptome is unclear.” In line with this, her favorite RNAs (right now) are mitochondrial mRNAs but she also admits that her favorite RNAs constantly change as new interesting RNAs are described.

Prof. Pillon highlights her preference for visual learning to explain what drew her to her specific area of research: “Structure often infers function, which is why integrated structural biology, including cryoEM, is a powerful approach for understanding the molecular basis for life.” She became fascinated with RNAs during her postdoc, saying that she “got hooked on the fantastical world of RNA biology”, a sentiment many of us will understand. Her favorite journal article published in RNA Journal is from this time, Jain and Shuman’s 2009 study on Characterization of a thermostable archaeal polynucleotide kinase homologous to human Clp1, which she read several times while developing the scope and approaches for a new project focused on the regulation of the Grc3 ribosomal RNA polynucleotide kinase.

"Science is not a sprint, but a marathon. Dedication to your project and research team is critical. Taking the time and effort to design the best experiment, explore all possibilities, and contribute to a collaborative environment will go a long way."

Prof. Pillon defines resilience, dedication, and teamwork as key characteristics of a successful research career: “Resilience. Science is riddled with unexpected turns and daunting hurdles. Resiliency is key to facing these challenges head-on and overcoming these defining moments. Dedication. Science is not a sprint, but a marathon. Dedication to your project and research team is critical. Taking the time and effort to design the best experiment, explore all possibilities, and contribute to a collaborative environment will go a long way. Teamwork. Science is rarely done in isolation. Learning from others and paying it forward are important traits that create a fruitful environment for success in many areas of one’s professional development.” In addition, her advice to students is to work smart. “To work smart means, you should treat every experiment like it will go into a peer-reviewed publication. For instance, include all controls, execute the experiment carefully, and accurately record the tasks and reagents.”

If you are interested in learning more, visit https://pillonlab.com or follow Prof. Pillon on Twitter (@monica_pillon). The Pillon lab is currently hiring and is particularly interested in individuals that are motivated to push the boundaries of RNA biology using a multidisciplinary program of cryoEM, enzymology, biophysics, and cell biology.