David Mkrtichyan

At the Research group of Molecular Biomimetics, Life Improvement by Future Technologies (LIFT) Center, I analyze bulk RNA-seq from human skeletal-muscle samples to study age-associated gene expression and transcript usage. My current work combines computational analysis with my experimental molecular biology background.

For this research, I designed an edgeR negative-binomial quasi-likelihood model incorporating age, sex, and their interaction. I also conducted PCA and quality control, multiple-testing correction, and Hallmark and GO BP gene set enrichment analysis.

At the Laboratory of Functional Genomics, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, I developed and validated a dual-sgRNA CRISPR/Cas9 knockout model of IQGAP3 in HEK293T cells. The work included guide design, Golden Gate cloning, transfection, and T7E1 mutation analysis.

I evaluated downstream inflammatory signaling with RT-qPCR and Western blotting, identifying reduced TNFAIP3 expression and decreased PI3K protein abundance following IQGAP3 knockout. I'm interested in biological mechanisms of gene regulation, aging, and disease.