Homa Ghalei, PhD, MSc

Research Program

Cell and Molecular Biology
Phone Number

404-727-6800
Email Address

homa.ghalei@emory.edu

Biography

Homa Ghalei, PhD, MSc, is an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Emory University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the faculty at Emory in 2017, Dr. Ghalei held a research associate position in the Department of Cancer Biology at The Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Ghalei is a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute.

Education

Dr. Ghalei earned her MSc and PhD in Molecular Biology at Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPI-BPC) and the University of Göttingen in Germany. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Cellular Biochemistry at MPI-BPC and Freie Universität Berlin.

Titles & Roles

Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry

Emory University School of Medicine

Research

Dr. Ghalei's lab is deciphering how an abundant and evolutionarily conserved class of small non-coding RNAs (snoRNAs) regulate gene expression by affecting ribosome production and translational control. Dysregulation of specific snoRNAs is associated with oncogenesis and tumor progression in leukemia, breast and lung cancers, among others. However, the molecular link between snoRNA dysregulation and cancer is largely unexplored providing a unique opportunity to examine the mechanisms that underpin this phenomenon and cause uncontrolled cellular growth.

Grants

View Grants

Grant Number	Title
1R35GM138123-01	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation
3R35GM138123-02S1	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation
3R35GM138123-03S1	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation
3R35GM138123-04S1	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation
5R35GM138123-02	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation
5R35GM138123-03	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation
5R35GM138123-04	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation
5R35GM138123-05	Biogenesis of macromolecular machines for post-transcriptional regulation of translation

Publications

Title/Journal	Authors	Publication Date
Comparative analyses of disease-linked missense mutations in the RNA exosome modeled in budding yeast reveal distinct functional consequences in translation. RNA (New York, N.Y.)	MC Sterrett, LA Cureton, LN Cohen, A van Hoof, S Khoshnevis, MB Fasken, AH Corbett, H Ghalei	04/17/2025
Comparative analyses of disease-linked missense mutations in the RNA exosome modeled in budding yeast reveal distinct functional consequences in translation. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology	MC Sterrett, LA Cureton, LN Cohen, A van Hoof, S Khoshnevis, MB Fasken, AH Corbett, H Ghalei	03/19/2025
Built differently or defective: can RNA exosomopathies cause ribosome heterogeneity? Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences	ZJ Bressman, AH Corbett, H Ghalei	03/06/2025
TGF-β1-mediated intercellular signaling fuels cooperative cellular invasion. Cell reports	TO Khatib, BA Pedro, S Bombin, VY Matsuk, IE Robinson, SF Webster, LJ Marcus, ER Summerbell, GK Tharp, CM Knippler, P Bagchi, J Kowalski-Muegge, HR Johnston, H Ghalei, PM Vertino, JK Mouw, AI Marcus	02/25/2025
New ZNHIT3 Variants Disrupting snoRNP Assembly Cause Prenatal PEHO Syndrome with Isolated Hydrops. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences	ML Rahman, AA Bonnard, F Wang, L Ruaud, F Guimiot, Y Li, I Defer, Y Wang, V Marchand, Y Motorin, B Yao, S Drunat, H Ghalei	08/26/2024
A biallelic variant of the RNA exosome gene, EXOSC4, associated with neurodevelopmental defects impairs RNA exosome function and translation. The Journal of biological chemistry	MB Fasken, SW Leung, LA Cureton, M Al-Awadi, A Al-Kindy, A van Hoof, S Khoshnevis, H Ghalei, A Al-Maawali, AH Corbett	08/01/2024
Differential roles of putative arginine fingers of AAA⁺ ATPases Rvb1 and Rvb2. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology	JL Warnock, JA Ball, SM Najmi, M Henes, A Vazquez, S Koshnevis, HJ Wieden, GL Conn, H Ghalei	05/13/2024
The putative RNA helicase DDX1 associates with the nuclear RNA exosome and modulates RNA/DNA hybrids (R-loops). The Journal of biological chemistry	JL de Amorim, SW Leung, R Haji-Seyed-Javadi, Y Hou, DS Yu, H Ghalei, S Khoshnevis, B Yao, AH Corbett	02/01/2024
Sinefungin, a natural nucleoside analog of S-adenosyl methionine, impairs the pathogenicity of Candida albicans. npj antimicrobials and resistance	A Nayak, A Khedri, A Chavarria, KN Sanders, H Ghalei, S Khoshnevis	01/01/2024
A Biallelic Variant of the RNA Exosome Gene EXOSC4 Causes Translational Defects Associated with a Neurodevelopmental Disorder. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences	MB Fasken, SW Leung, LA Cureton, M Al-Awadi, A Al-Kindy, S Khoshnevis, H Ghalei, A Al-Maawali, AH Corbett	10/28/2023
Sinefungin, a natural nucleoside analog of S-adenosyl methionine, impairs the pathogenicity of Candida albicans. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology	A Nayak, A Chavarria, KN Sanders, H Ghalei, S Khoshnevis	10/15/2023
The RNA helicase DDX1 associates with the nuclear RNA exosome and modulates R-loops. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology	JL de Amorim, SW Leung, R Haji-Seyed-Javadi, Y Hou, DS Yu, H Ghalei, S Khoshnevis, B Yao, AH Corbett	04/17/2023
RNA structural probing of guanine and uracil nucleotides in yeast. PloS one	K Xiao, H Ghalei, S Khoshnevis	01/01/2023
Maturation of small nucleolar RNAs: from production to function. RNA biology	SF Webster, H Ghalei	01/01/2023
Studies of mutations of assembly factor Hit1 in budding yeast suggest translation defects as the molecular basis for PEHO syndrome. The Journal of biological chemistry	RE Dreggors-Walker, LN Cohen, S Khoshnevis, V Marchand, Y Motorin, H Ghalei	09/01/2022
Ribosomal RNA 2'-O-methylations regulate translation by impacting ribosome dynamics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America	S Khoshnevis, RE Dreggors-Walker, V Marchand, Y Motorin, H Ghalei	03/22/2022
Phosphorylation regulates arginine-rich RNA-binding protein solubility and oligomerization. The Journal of biological chemistry	SR Kundinger, EB Dammer, L Yin, C Hurst, S Shapley, L Ping, S Khoshnevis, H Ghalei, DM Duong, NT Seyfried	11/01/2021
Practical advice for mentoring and supporting faculty colleagues in STEM fields: Views from mentor and mentee perspectives. The Journal of biological chemistry	JM Spangle, H Ghalei, AH Corbett	09/01/2021
An open interface in the pre-80S ribosome coordinated by ribosome assembly factors Tsr1 and Dim1 enables temporal regulation of Fap7. RNA (New York, N.Y.)	J Rai, MD Parker, H Huang, S Choy, H Ghalei, MC Johnson, K Karbstein, ME Stroupe	02/01/2021
Quality control of 40S ribosome head assembly ensures scanning competence. The Journal of cell biology	H Huang, H Ghalei, K Karbstein	11/02/2020
Correction: A kinase-dependent checkpoint prevents escape of immature ribosomes into the translating pool. PLoS biology	MD Parker, JC Collins, B Korona, H Ghalei, K Karbstein	10/01/2020
A kinase-dependent checkpoint prevents escape of immature ribosomes into the translating pool. PLoS biology	MD Parker, JC Collins, B Korona, H Ghalei, K Karbstein	12/01/2019
A conserved Bcd1 interaction essential for box C/D snoRNP biogenesis. The Journal of biological chemistry	S Khoshnevis, RE Dreggors, TFR Hoffmann, H Ghalei	11/29/2019