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Research

Translation of mRNA is a fundamental process in gene expression, yet its extent, role and regulation in human diseases remain unclear. Our group focuses on developing and applying data-driven approaches to uncover hidden translation events including previously unannotated proteins that play critical roles in human disease. Using high-throughput data (including Ribosome profiling/Ribo-seq) and computational approaches, we are redefining the landscape of translated regions and thus potential functional proteins throughout the genome. Emerging research across the field has shown many human transcripts produce multiple distinct translated products, leading to at least a 40% increase in identified translated regions including 1000s found in long non-coding RNAs. Furthermore, we show detection of widespread gene expression changes due to translation efficiency changes in disease pathways that were previously missed in traditional RNA-based target discovery screens. These findings have highlighted a largely untapped search space for new biomarkers, therapeutic targets and antigens for targeted therapy.

We are actively recruiting Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Officers, and PhD students with interests in RNA biology, computational genomics, or translational research. For inquiries, please contact Sonia Chothani.

About the PI

Dr. Sonia Chothani is driven by a deep passion in translating data-driven insights into improved diagnostics and therapies for human diseases. Her training includes B.Tech in Biotechnology from Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India, M.S. in Computational Biology from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. Her early research experience spans roles in both industry and academic settings (Philips Research North America, GIS/A*STAR), which shaped her interdisciplinary approach. She then received a joint Ph.D. from Duke University and the National University of �����(NUS) through the Integrated Biology and Medicine program at Duke-NUS Medical School, �����further deepening her commitment to translational medicine.

Selected Publications

Visit for the full list of publications. Selected publications here:

• Chothani, S., Ho, L., Schafer, S., & Rackham, O. (2023). Discovering microproteins: making the most of ribosome profiling data. RNA biology, 20(1), 943-954.
• Chothani, S. P., Adami, E., Widjaja, A. A., Langley, S. R., Viswanathan, S., Pua, C. J., ... & Schafer, S. (2022). A high-resolution map of human RNA translation. Molecular cell, 82(15), 2885-2899.
• Chothani, S., Schäfer, S., Adami, E., Viswanathan, S., Widjaja, A. A., Langley, S. R., ... & Rackham, O. J. (2019). Widespread translational control of fibrosis in the human heart by RNA-binding proteins. Circulation, 140(11), 937-951.
• Chothani, S., Adami, E., Ouyang, J. F., Viswanathan, S., Hubner, N., Cook, S. A., ... & Rackham, O. JL. (2019). deltaTE: Detection of translationally regulated genes by integrative analysis of Ribo‐seq and RNA‐seq data. Current protocols in molecular biology, 129(1), e108.
• Kerouanton, B., Schäfer, S., Ho, L., Chothani, S.*, & Rackham, O. JL*. (2022). CLIPreg: constructing translational regulatory networks from CLIP-, Ribo-and RNA-seq. Bioinformatics, 38(14), 3651-3653. *Corresponding/Senior
• Widjaja. A., Lim, WW., Viswanathan, S., Chothani S, .., David Carling, Stuart A. Cook. Inhibition of IL-11 signalling extends mammalian healthspan and lifespan. (2024) Nature. 632 (8023), 157-165
• Ouyang JF, Chothani S, Rackham OJL. Deep learning models will shape the future of stem cell research (2023). Stem Cell Reports. 18 (1), 6-12
• Whiffin, N., Karczewski, K., Zhang, X., Chothani, S., Smith, M., Gareth Evans, D., Roberts, A., Quaife, N.M., Schafer, S., Rackham, O., et al. Characterising the loss-of-function impact of 5’ untranslated region variants in whole genome sequence data from 15,708 individuals. (2019). Nature Communications 11(1):2523
• Lee C., Kerouanton, B., Chothani, S., Zhang, S., Chen, Y., .., Ho, L. Coding and Non-Coding Roles of MOCCI Coordinate to Regulate Host Inflammation and Immunity (2021). Nature Communications. 12 (1): 2130.
• Ng B, Dong J, Viswanathan S, DAgostino G, Widjaja A, Lim W, Ko N, Tan J, Chothani S, Huang B, Xie C, Chacko AM, Guimaraes-Camboa N, Evans S, Byrne A, Maher T, Liang J, Noble P, Schafer S, Cook S. IL-11 is a therapeutic target in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (2019). Sci Transl Med. 11(511)
• Schafer S, Viswanathan S, Widjaja AA, Lim WW, Moreno-Moral A, DeLaughter DM, Ng B, Patone G, Chow K, Khin E, Tan J, Chothani SP, Ye L, Rackham OJL,.., Seidman JG, Seidman CE, Hubner N, Sin KYK, Cook SA (2017). IL-11 is a crucial determinant of cardiovascular fibrosis. Nature. 552(7683):110-115.