Leslie BEH

Leslie BEH
Epitranscriptomics and RNA therapeutics lab

Email: Leslie_Beh@imcb.a-star.edu.sg

Leslie earned an A.B. in Biology at Harvard University as a John Harvard scholar, where he trained with Nicole Francis on the biochemistry of Polycomb group proteins. He then obtained his A.M. and Ph.D. in Biology from Princeton University as a Petrie fellow with Laura Landweber and Tom Muir, where he developed methods for assembling synthetic chromosomes with custom epigenetic modifications. Using genomics and biochemical fractionation approaches, he identified a novel DNA methyltransferase complex with evolutionary links to the canonical RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase, METTL3/14. Following this, Leslie embarked on a short postdoctoral stint with Sam Sternberg at Columbia University, where he used genomic, structural, and biochemical approaches to study CRISPR-Cas systems that mediate RNA-guided DNA integration. Leslie then pursued a career in industry, joining Illumina to lead a research group for developing novel epigenetics assays. Driven by the desire to do biological research and make an impact on students, Leslie returned to A*STAR / IMCB in September 2022 as a Principal Investigator.

Leslie aims to draw upon his diverse experiences from academia and industry to run a productive lab group at IMCB. Having benefited from the transformative experience of good mentorship, Leslie cares deeply about guiding lab members towards their career goals and personal aspirations.

The Beh lab will decode the function of RNA modifications using synthetic RNA and CRISPR-Cas approaches. A comprehensive understanding of the rules underlying, when, how and where modifications act will enable the development of novel RNA therapeutic modalities.

Please visit the Leslie Beh laboratory website at www.behlab.org.

Leslie BEH

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