Kristopher W. Brannan

Kristopher W. Brannan, PhD

Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Sciences, Academic Institute
Assistant Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


Brannan Lab


kwbrannan@houstonmethodist.org
Biography

Dr. Kristopher Brannan is an Assistant Professor and CPRIT Scholar in the Center for RNA Therapeutics and Houston Methodist Cancer Center at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. He received his B.A. degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, and his Ph.D. in molecular biology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Diego and joined the faculty at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in 2021. His work is focused on RNA-protein interactions that regulate gene expression programs disrupted in cancer and neurological disease. 

Description of Research

We utilize innovative molecular and computational approaches to:
-Explore the functional RNA binding activity of the nucleocytoplasmic transport (NCT) machinery disrupted in neurodegeneration.

-Map the RNA-protein interaction networks that drive breast cancer progression and plasticity.

-Evaluate RNA-based therapeutics in cell-line models, animal models, and patient tissues.

Publications

HydRA: Deep-learning models for predicting RNA-binding capacity from protein interaction association context and protein sequence
Jin, W, Brannan, KW, Kapeli, K, Park, SS, Tan, HQ, Gosztyla, ML, Mujumdar, M, Ahdout, J, Henroid, B, Rothamel, K, Xiang, JS, Wong, L & Yeo, GW 2023, , Molecular Cell, vol. 83, no. 14, pp. 2595-2611.e11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2023.06.019

Large-scale map of RNA binding protein interactomes across the mRNA life-cycle
Street, L, Rothamel, K, Brannan, K, Jin, W, Bokor, B, Dong, K, Rhine, K, Madrigal, A, Al-Azzam, N, Kim, JK, Ma, Y, Abdou, A, Wolin, E, Doron-Mandel, E, Ahdout, J, Mujumdar, M, Jovanovic, M & Yeo, GW 2023, , bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.08.544225

Methods and use of chimeric proteins
Brannan, KW, Yeo, E, Marina, R, Lorenz, D & Chaim, I May. 04 2023, , Patent No. US20230138328A1. <https://patents.google.com/patent/US20230138328A1/en>

A relay velocity model infers cell-dependent RNA velocity
Li, S, Zhang, P, Chen, W, Ye, L, Brannan, KW, Le, NT, Abe, JI, Cooke, JP & Wang, G 2023, , Nature Biotechnology, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 99-108. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01728-5

Directed editing of cellular rna via nuclear delivery of crispr/cas9
Brannan, KW, Marina, R, Yeo, E & Nelles, D Feb. 23 2023, , Patent No. US20230053915A1. <https://patents.google.com/patent/US20230053915A1/en>

Directed editing of cellular RNA via nuclear delivery of CRISPR/CAS9
Brannan, KW, Yeo, GW, Marina, RJ & Nelles, D Sep. 27 2022, , Patent No. 11453891. <https://patents.justia.com/patent/11453891>

Robust single-cell discovery of RNA targets of RNA-binding proteins and ribosomes
Brannan, KW, Chaim, IA, Marina, RJ, Yee, BA, Kofman, ER, Lorenz, DA, Jagannatha, P, Dong, KD, Madrigal, AA, Underwood, JG & Yeo, GW 2021, , Nature Methods, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 507-519. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-021-01128-0

Evaluation of Engineered CRISPR-Cas-Mediated Systems for Site-Specific RNA Editing
Marina, RJ, Brannan, KW, Dong, KD, Yee, BA & Yeo, GW 2020, , Cell Reports, vol. 33, no. 5, 108350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108350

Control of RNA Pol II Speed by PNUTS-PP1 and Spt5 Dephosphorylation Facilitates Termination by a “Sitting Duck Torpedo” Mechanism
Cortazar, MA, Sheridan, RM, Erickson, B, Fong, N, Glover-Cutter, K, Brannan, K & Bentley, DL 2019, , Molecular Cell, vol. 76, no. 6, pp. 896-908.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2019.09.031

From Protein-RNA Predictions toward a Peptide-RNA Code
Brannan, KW & Yeo, GW 2016, , Molecular Cell, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 437-438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2016.10.023

SONAR Discovers RNA-Binding Proteins from Analysis of Large-Scale Protein-Protein Interactomes
Brannan, KW, Jin, W, Huelga, SC, Banks, CAS, Gilmore, JM, Florens, L, Washburn, MP, Van Nostrand, EL, Pratt, GA, Schwinn, MK, Daniels, DL & Yeo, GW 2016, , Molecular Cell, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 282-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2016.09.003

Effects of Transcription Elongation Rate and Xrn2 Exonuclease Activity on RNA Polymerase II Termination Suggest Widespread Kinetic Competition
Fong, N, Brannan, K, Erickson, B, Kim, H, Cortazar, MA, Sheridan, RM, Nguyen, T, Karp, S & Bentley, DL 2015, , Molecular Cell, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 256-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2015.09.026

MRNA Decapping Factors and the Exonuclease Xrn2 Function in Widespread Premature Termination of RNA Polymerase II Transcription
Brannan, K, Kim, H, Erickson, B, Glover-Cutter, K, Kim, S, Fong, N, Kiemele, L, Hansen, K, Davis, R, Lykke-Andersen, J & Bentley, DL 2012, , Molecular Cell, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 311-324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2012.03.006