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- 2023
- Congratulations to Dustin King, Amy Lee and David Vocadlo: recipients of New Frontiers in Research Fund
- SFU research aids fight against treatment-resistant superbugs
- Leroux lab Nature Communications paper identifies novel human disease gene linked to retinal degeneration, one of a growing number of genes associated with ciliary dysfunction (ciliopathies)
- Graduate student Minh Nguyen and his colleagues in the Craig lab reveal the mechanism of Type IV-pilus mediated bacterial secretion
- Global News BC: Dr. Fiona Brinkman Discusses How Scientists Track Mutations in the New Covid-19 Variants
- 2022
- Congratulations to Dr. Tim Audas on The Renewal of Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cellular Stress
- $2 Million Gift From SFU Professors Emeriti Helps Seed New Ideas at SFU Science
- Learn more about Dr. King's new lab that focuses on natural ‘carbon capture’ solutions
- Congratulations to Dr. Amy Lee: The Recipient of The Banting Research Foundation's 2022 Discovery Award
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, The Recipient of Governor General’s Gold Medal
- MBB Alumnus Profile: Meet Cory Macklin Who Overcame Challenges to Win Governor General's Silver Medal
- Congratulations to Dr. Razvan Cojocaru, the recipient of Dr. Bruce Brandhorst Prizes for Best Publication and Best PhD Thesis
- Meet Our Newest Faculty: Dr. Dustin King on His Exploration of Weaving Western Science with Indigenous Ways of Knowing
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- Congratulations to our May 2022 Graduands
- Congratulations to Dr. Mani Larijani for Being Awarded a Prestigious New Frontiers in Research Fund Grant
- A New Paper from Beh Lab on ER-PM membrane contact site regulation by yeast ORPs and membrane stress pathways has been published in Plos Genetics Journal
- Dr. Lorena Braid is featured among new and renewed Canada Research Chairs
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Sen Lab
My laboratory carries out research to discover new “fundamental” properties of DNA and RNA. The catalytic properties of these nucleic acids, and the role of unusual RNA and DNA structures in diseases as well as is normal cellular processes are of special interest.
A major and long-term interest of my research program is to gain a deep understanding of the catalytic possibilities of DNA and RNA. Astonishing recent discoveries in the biology of RNA (such as riboswitches and miRNA) have shown it to be anything but a passive carrier of genetic information. Indeed, the existence of ribozymes (catalytic RNAs) has long bolstered the notion of an “RNA World”, an early stage in evolution in which RNA was responsible for both informational and catalytic functions within organisms. A focus of my lab is to search for new and often unexpected catalytic properties of RNA (and of its surrogate, DNA). We are one of only a few labs in the world that specialize in this area; however, our key papers have contributed to new thinking about primordial biochemistry, the de novo design of biocatalysts, and generated often unexpected practical applications, particularly in the field of biosensing.
For more details, visit our research lab website.
Selected Publications
- A. Barlev, D. Sen (2018). DNA's Encounter with Ultraviolet Light: An Instinct for Self-Preservation? Acc.Chem. Res. 51, 526-533.
- O.J. Einarson, D. Sen (2017). Self-biotinylation of DNA G-quadruplexes via intrinsic peroxidase activity. Nucleic Acids Res. 45, 9813-9822.
- A. Barlev, G. S. Sekhon, A. J. Bennet, and D. Sen* (2016). DNA Repair by DNA: The UV1C DNAzyme Catalyzes Photoreactivation of Cyclobutane Thymine Dimers in DNA More Effectively than Their de Novo Formation. Biochemistry 55, 6010-6018.
- P. Cernak and D. Sen* (2013). A thiamin-utilizing ribozyme decarboxylates a pyruvate-like substrate. Nature Chemistry 5, 971-977.