Single-Cell and Long-Read RNA Regulation Lab – AI for Kids
Dr. Mariela Cortés López
Research Focus
Dissecting genetic and non-genetic roles of RNA regulation in cellular phenotypes
The Cortés López Lab, based at the Institute of Computational Biology within the Helmholtz Munich Computational Health Center and the LMU Children’s Hospital (Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital), develops computationally driven, high-resolution single cell approaches to study how RNA regulation and alternative splicing shape cellular identity in health and disease.
Integrating long-read single-cell transcriptomics, multimodal genomics, computational models and machine learning frameworks, the lab investigates RNA dysregulation in pediatric and adult diseases, spanning cancer, developmental disorders, and non-malignant pathologies. As part of the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), our goal is to develop RNA-centric, data-driven methodologies that transform mechanistic insight into precision medical interventions, with a strong focus on childhood disease.
Key words
- Long-reads
- Single-cell genomics
- Transcriptomics
- RNA regulation
Key Publications
Key Publications
Cortés-López M, Chamely P, Hawkins AG, Stanley RF, Swett AD, Ganesan S, Mouhieddine TH, Dai X, Kluegel L, Chen C, Batta K, Furer N, Vedula RS, Beaulaurier J, Drong AW, Hickey S, Dusaj N, Mullokandov G, Stasiw AM, Su J, Chaligné R, Juul S, Harrington E, Knowles DA, Potenski CJ, Wiseman DH, Tanay A, Shlush L, Lindsley RC, Ghobrial IM, Taylor J, Abdel-Wahab O, Gaiti F, Landau DA. 2023 Single-cell multi-omics defines the cell-type-specific impact of splicing aberrations in human hematopoietic clonal outgrowths. Cell Stem Cell.
Luo H, Cortés-López M, Tam CL, Xiao M, Wakiro I, Chu KL, Pierson A, Chan M, Chang K, Yang X, Fecko D, Han G, Ahn EE, Morris QD, Landau DA, Kharas MG. 2023. SON is an essential m(6)A target for hematopoietic stem cell fate. Cell Stem Cell
Cortés-López M, Schulz L, Enculescu M, Paret C, Spiekermann B, Quesnel-Vallières M, Torres-Diz M, Unic S, Busch A, Orekhova A, Kuban M, Mesitov M, Mulorz MM, Shraim R, Kielisch F, Faber J, Barash Y, Thomas-Tikhonenko A, Zarnack K, Legewie S, König J. 2022. High-throughput mutagenesis identifies mutations and RNA-binding proteins controlling CD19 splicing and CART-19 therapy resistance. Nat Commun
Schulz L, Torres-Diz M, Cortés-López M, Hayer KE, Asnani M, Tasian SK, Barash Y, Sotillo E, Zarnack K, König J, Thomas-Tikhonenko A. 2021. Direct long-read RNA sequencing identifies a subset of questionable exitrons likely arising from reverse transcription artifacts. Genome Biol
Professional Background
DZKJ Early Career Investigator - Helmholtz Munich, Institute of Computational Biology and Dr. von Haunerschen Kinderspital (LMU), Munich, Germany
Postdoctoral Associate - Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Genome Center, New York, USA.
PhD. in Biology - Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Institut für Molekulare Biologie, Mainz, Germany
Research Assistant – University of Nevada, Reno, USA.
Undergraduate Researcher – University of Nevada, Reno, USA.
BSc., Genomics (Licenciatura en Ciencias Genómicas) – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Honors and Awards
- 2025 – NYGC Community Champion Award.
- 2025 – NIH NCI Early K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award.
- 2024 – RNA Society/CSHL Press Award for Research Excellence by an Underrepresented Scientist.
- 2014 - Fellowship, Ayudante Investigador (CONACYT – Mexico).
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