Dr. Matt Franklin started his scientific career in biochemical engineering (Michigan State University, University of Washington) and structural biology (EMBL-Hamburg). He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University under the mentorship of Jan Liphardt, with support from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. During his graduate work, Matt investigated multiple biological questions from a physical perspective. While studying the dynamics of Hippo pathway signaling, Matt unexpectedly discovered that the Hippo pathway transcription factor family TEAD directly binds one of the major satellite repeats, Human Satellite 3 (HSat3). Intrigued by this observation, Matt went all-in to understand why such a highly conserved transcription factor targets the largest elements in the genome.
During his multi-lab postdoctoral journey at University of California San Diego, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and Stanford University, Matt unveiled two core discoveries: [1] the Hippo transcription effectors YAP/TEAD accumulate on satellites inside the nucleolus, allowing YAP to directly activate RNA Polymerase-I, and [2] human satellite repeats encode binding platforms for dozens of transcription factors, including those of highly-conserved signaling pathways. Using experimental and computational approaches, the Franklin Lab aims to uncover how satellite repeats shape genome regulation in health and disease.
