Bede Portz was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab from August 2017 to April 2021. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University where he studied the RNA Polymerase II CTD using a combination of biophysical, biochemical and genetic approaches. Bede received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in microbiology. In 2018, Bede won an American Heart Association Post-Doctoral Fellowship! In 2019, Bede won a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the BrightFocus Foundation! Bede went on to become a senior scientist for Dewpoint Therapeutics.

Publications

Sweeney, K.M., S. Chantarawong, E.M. Barbieri, G. Cajka, M. Liu, L. Spruce, H. Fazelinia, B. Portz, K. Copley, T. Lapidot, L. Duhamel, P. Greenwald, N. Saida, R. Shalgi, J. Shorter, and O. Shalem. (2024). CRISPR screen for protein inclusion formation uncovers a role for SRRD in the regulation of intermediate filament dynamics and aggresome assembly. PLoS Genet. 20(2):e1011138. pdf file link

Guo, L.*^, J.R. Mann*, J.C. Mauna°, K.E. Copley°, H. Wang°, J.D. Rubien°, H.M. Odeh, J. Lin, B.L. Lee, L. Ganser, E. Robinson, K.M. Kim, A.C. Murthy, T. Paul, B. Portz, A.M. Gleixner, Z. Diaz, J.L. Carey, A. Smirnov, G. Padilla, E. Lavorando, C. Espy, Y. Shang, E.J. Huang, A. Chesi, N.L. Fawzi, S. Myong, C.J. Donnelly^, and J. Shorter^. (2023). Defining RNA oligonucleotides that reverse deleterious phase transitions of RNA-binding proteins with prion-like domains. bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2023.09.04.555754. pdf file link (*Co-first author. °Co-second author. ^Co-corresponding author).

Boeynaems, S.*, S. Chong*, J. Gsponer*, L. Holt*, D. Milovanovic*, D.M. Mitrea* O. Mueller-Cajar*, B. Portz*, J.F. Reilly*, C.D. Reinkemeier*, B.R. Sabari*, S. Sanulli*, J. Shorter*, E. Sontag*, L. Strader*, J. Stachowiak*, S.C. Weber*, M. White*, H. Zhang*, M. Zweckstetter*, S. Elbaum-Garfinkle^, and R. Kriwacki^. (2023). Phase separation in biology and disease; current perspectives and open questions. J. Mol. Biol. 435(5):167971. pdf file link (*Co-first author. ^Co-corresponding author).

Hallegger, M.*, A.M. Chakrabarti*, F.C.Y. Lee*, B.L. Lee, A.G. Amalietti, H.M. Odeh, K.E. Copley, J.D. Rubien, B. Portz, K. Kuret, I. Huppertz, F. Rau, R. Patani, N.L. Fawzi, J. Shorter, N.M. Luscombe, and J. Ule. (2021). TDP-43 condensation properties specify its RNA-binding and regulatory repertoire. Cell. 184(18):4680-4696.e22. pdf file link (*Co-first author).

Portz, B., and J. Shorter. (2021). Biochemical timekeeping via reentrant phase transitions. J. Mol. Biol. 433(12):166794. pdf file link

Portz, B., B.L. Lee, and J. Shorter. (2021). FUS and TDP-43 phases in health and disease. Trends Biochem. Sci. 46(7):550-563. pdf file link

Portz, B., and J. Shorter. (2020). Switching condensates: the CTD code goes liquid. Trends. Biochem. Sci. 45(1):1-3. pdf file link

Cheng, W.*, S. Wang*, Z. Zhang, D.W. Morgens, L.R. Hayes, S. Lee, B. Portz, Y. Xie, B.V. Nguyen, M.S. Haney, S. Yan, D. Dong, A.N. Coyne, J. Yang, F. Xian, D.W. Cleveland, Z. Qiu, J.D. Rothstein, J. Shorter, F-B. Gao, M.C. Bassik, and S. Sun. (2019). CRISPR-Cas9 screens identify the RNA helicase DDX3X as a repressor of C9ORF72 (GGGGCC)n repeat-associated non-AUG translation. Neuron. 104(5):885–898. pdf file link (*Co-first author).

Mann, J.R., A.M. Gleixner, J.C. Mauna, E. Gomes, M.R. DeChellis-Marks, P.G. Needham, K.E. Copley, B. Hurtle, B. Portz, N.J. Pyles, L. Guo, C.B. Calder, Z.P. Wills, U.B. Pandey, J.K. Kofler, J.L. Brodsky, A. Thathiah, J. Shorter, and C.J. Donnelly. (2019). RNA binding antagonizes neurotoxic phase transitions of TDP-43. Neuron. 102(2):321-338. pdf file link

Lu, F., B. Portz, and D.S. Gilmour. (2019). The C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II is a multivalent targeting sequence that supports Drosophila development with only consensus heptads. Mol. Cell. 73(6):1232-1242. pdf file link

Portz, B., and J. Shorter. (2018). 3' UTRs in the eye of the tiger. Developmental Cell. 47(5), 544-546. pdf file link

Gibbs, E.B., T.N. Laremore, G.A. Usher, B. Portz, E.C. Cook, and S.A. Showalter. (2017). Substrate Specificity of the Kinase P-TEFb towards the RNA Polymerase II C-Terminal Domain. Biophys. J. 113(9), 1909–1911. pdf file link

Portz, B., F. Lu, E.B. Gibbs, J.E. Mayfield, M.R. Mehaffey, Y.J. Zhang, J.S. Brodbelt, S.A. Showalter, and D.S. Gilmour. (2017). Structural heterogeneity in the intrinsically disordered RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain. Nat. Comm. 8, 15231. pdf file link

Gibbs, E.B., F. Lu, B. Portz, M.J. Fisher, B.P. Medelline, T.N. Laremore, Y.J. Zhang, D.S. Gilmour, and S.A. Showalter. (2017). Phosphorylation induces sequence-specific conformational switches in the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain. Nat. Comm. 8, 15233. pdf file link