Biography
Blerta Xhemalçe, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Emory University School of Medicine.
Dr. Xhemalçe is a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
Prior to joining Emory in September 2024, she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, as well as a member of the Livestrong Cancer Institutes, at the University of Texas at Austin.
Education
Dr. Xhemalçe earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular Biology of the Cell from the Pasteur Institute and Paris VII University, and a Master of Science in Molecular Biology of the Cell from Paris VII University in France. She completed postdoctoral training in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in the Kouzarides lab at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Titles & Roles
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Associate Professor, Department of BiochemistryEmory University School of Medicine
Research
Dr. Xhemalçe’s research aims to decipher how epigenetic modifications regulate the expression of our genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins, with a particular focus on RNA modification pathways, including RNA Cytosine methylation and acetylation, non-canonical RNA capping by phospho-methylation, and RNA glycosylation. Her lab uses a combination of cellular and molecular biology, RNA biochemistry, next generation sequencing and quantitative mass spectrometry in breast cancer cellular in vitro and in vivo models, to identify fundamental molecular mechanisms of gene regulation, genome stability and inflammation, as well as potential molecular targets for anti-cancer therapies. Her work has obtained funding from a variety of funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award, Welch Foundation and STORM Therapeutics.
Publications
Dr. Xhemalçe has authored numerous publications in high impact journals, including Cell, Molecular Cell, Science Advances, Cell Reports, Oncogene, and JACS. She also serves on the editorial board of Briefings in Functional Genomics.