Alexei Aravin

I moved my laboratory which is focused on non-coding RNA and epigenetics from Caltech to Cornell University in 2025. My research investigates critical steps in the biogenesis of a distinct class of small non-coding RNA, piwi-interacting (pi)RNAs. During my years as postdoctoral fellow, my work led to the discovery and characterization of the piRNA pathway, which forms a programmable immune system against transposable elements in animal germlines. The discovery of piRNAs provided a new direction to the field of RNA biology.