Tara L. Beattie

Telomerase is a specialized reverse transcriptase that uses an internal RNA template to direct telomere synthesis. In human cells, telomerase activity is associated with hTER, the telomerase RNA, the telomerase RNA binding proteins TEP1, dyskerin, L22 and hStau, and the telomerase reverse transcriptase TEP1. In vitro, hTER and hTERT are both necessary and sufficient to reconstitute telomerase activity in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. I am currently using this reconstitution assay to delineate the functional interactions that are required to reconstitute telomerase activity.

My research interests include both the elucidation of protein/RNA interactions that are essential for telomerase activity as well as the determination of the molecular basis of telomere length regulation in cancer and aging. It has recently been demonstrated that telomerase activity is essential for cellular proliferation and long-term viability of normal human cells in vivo. Knowledge of the composition and structure of the human telomerase complex will be critical to our understanding of how this interesting reverse transcriptase modulates telomere length and cell survival in cancer and aging.

Research Areas: Molecular Biology and Disease

Research Personnel: 

• Erin Degelman, Ph.D. Graduate Student
• Nick Ting, Ph.D., Research Associate
• Catherine Peretu, Administrative Assistant