University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus · BiologyKaplan Lab
Craig Kaplan · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Craig Kaplan's lab at the University of Pittsburgh focuses on understanding the mechanisms of gene transcription in eukaryotic cells, particularly how RNA Polymerase II initiates and elongates transcription. Using yeast as a model organism, his team investigates how transcription start sites are selected and how transcription interacts with processes like RNA splicing and chromatin remodeling. Their research has broader implications for understanding gene expression and its links to diseases caused by transcription errors.
RNA Polymerase IIgene transcriptiontranscription initiationtranscription elongationRNA processingchromatin remodelingyeast modelprotein functiongene expression
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the mechanisms of transcription initiation by RNA Polymerase II.
AIM 02Identify determinants of transcription start site selection in yeast.
AIM 03Study how Pol II elongation affects cotranscriptional events like RNA splicing.
AIM 04Examine the relationship between Pol II activity changes and cellular physiology.
AIM 05Explore the conservation of Pol II mechanisms across eukaryotic organisms.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRgene cloningRNA sequencingchromatin immunoprecipitationgene expression analysisbioinformaticsmutagenesisbiochemical assayscell culture
Output against the department
Publications115bottom 41% of dept.612th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations5.0kbottom 38% of dept.637th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.