Kavi is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology. Her research is centered on understanding molecular mechanisms of environmental adaptation, with a focus on RNA editing. She completed her postdoctoral work with Samara Reck-Peterson at UC San Diego, where she was supported by a Life Sciences Research Foundation fellowship. She received her PhD in Microbial Pathogenesis and Chemical Biology from The Rockefeller University. She is the recipient of the NIH Pathway to Independence Award and the Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award.

Our lab is currently focused on the biology of RNA recoding and its role in generating plasticity to changing environments. RNA recoding occurs when enzymes site-specifically edit mRNA causing non-synonymous codon changes, thereby "recoding" the primary amino acid sequence specified in DNA. Intriguingly, some organisms like cephalopods and filamentous fungi use this process extensively, modifying transcripts across most cellular processes. Recoding can dramatically alter protein function, is cell-type specific, and is responsive to environmental cues, suggesting that recoding is a flexible mechanism that enables context-dependent functions. Our lab seeks to understand how recoding shapes protein function, and how it is regulated in different cellular and environmental contexts.

• Rangan K.J.* and Reck-Peterson S.L.* RNA recoding in cephalopods tailors microtubule motor protein function. Cell 2023; 186, 2531-2543. * Co-corresponding authors
  • Preview: Koenig K.M. Chilling with cephalopods: Temperature-responsive RNA editing in octopus and squid. Cell 2023; 186 (12), 2518-2520. 
  • Media coverage: Saey T.H. Squid edit their RNA to keep supply lines moving in the cold. ScienceNews, Dec. 21, 2022.        https://www.sciencenews.org/article/squid-edit-rna-cold-adaptation
  • Fudge T. California squid reprogram their genes to withstand near-freezing waters. KPBS, June 16, 2023. https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2023/06/16/california-squid-reprogram-their-genes-to-withstand-near-freezing- waters 
• Vallecillo-Viejo I.C., Liscovitch-Brauer N., Quiroz J.F.D., Montiel-Gonzalez M.F., Nemes S.E., Rangan K.J., Levinson S.R., Eisenberg E., Rosenthal J.J.C. Spatially regulated editing of genetic information within a neuron. Nucleic Acids Research 2020; 48 (8), 3999-4012
• Kim B., Wang Y-C., Hespen C.W., Espinosa J., Salje J., Rangan K.J., Oren D.A., Kang J.Y., Pedicord V.A., Hang H.C. Enterococcus faecium secreted antigen A generates muropeptides to activate immune signaling and limit bacterial pathogenesis. eLife 2019; 8:e45343
• Rangan K.J., Hang H.C. Biochemical mechanisms of pathogen restriction by intestinal bacteria. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 2017 Nov; 42(11), 887-898.
• Rangan K.J.*, Pedicord V.A., Wang Y-C., Kim B., Lu Y., Shaham S., Mucida D., Hang H.C*. A secreted bacterial peptidoglycan hydrolase enhances tolerance to enteric pathogens. Science 2016; 353 (6306), 1434-1437. * Co-corresponding authors
• Pedicord V.A., Lockhart A.A.K., Rangan K.J., Craig J.W., Loschko J., Rogoz A., Hang H.C., Mucida D. Exploiting a host-commensal interaction to promote intestinal barrier function and enteric pathogen tolerance. Science Immunology 2016; 1 (3), eaai7732.
• Rangan K.J., Yang Y.Y., Charron G., Hang H.C. Rapid visualization and large-scale profiling of bacterial lipoproteins with chemical reporters.  Journal of the American Chemical Society 2010; 132 (31), 10628-10629.