Prof. Karni’s lab is interested in how the process of alternative RNA splicing (a fundamental step of gene expression) is de-regulated in cancer and other diseases, and how the proteins that control this process (called splicing factors) contribute to cancer development, tumor progression and the metastatic process. Another effort in the lab is to identify the genes which are regulated by each splicing factor. The Karni lab uses different in vitro and in vivo cellular and animal systems as well as new technologies such as RNA-seq to identify the role of splicing factors in cancer and their target genes. There are many important application to the studies in the lab, among them discovery of early diagnostic markers for tumor development and patient prognosis as well as new targets for the development of new anti-cancer therapies. Some of these applications are commercialized by the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University, Yissum.