[{"content":"","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"Ideas and commentary on biology and research from the AneneLab.\nSubscribe via RSS\n","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/blog/","section":"Beyond the Sequence","summary":"Ideas and commentary on biology and research from the AneneLab.\nSubscribe via RSS\n","title":"Beyond the Sequence","type":"blog"},{"content":"An enhancer tells us where an RNA is produced, but not what it becomes. eRNAs are often treated as unstable markers of enhancer activity, yet some are processed, persist, move beyond the nucleus and regulate other RNAs. The emerging evidence suggests it is time to follow the RNA itself: its processing, stability, localisation, interactions and function. Our framework recognises nascent, transient, stable, regulatory and translated states, without assuming every eRNA passes through them all. The key is to match experiments to the biology being investigated. Where an eRNA starts matters, but what it does cannot be inferred from its origin.\n","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/blog/born-at-the-enhancer-defined-by-function/","section":"Beyond the Sequence","summary":"An enhancer tells us where an RNA is produced, but not what it becomes. The emerging evidence suggests it is time to follow the RNA itself.","title":"Born at the Enhancer, Defined by Function","type":"blog"},{"content":"","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/chinedu-anene/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Chinedu-Anene","type":"authors"},{"content":"","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/enhancer-rnas/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Enhancer RNAs","type":"tags"},{"content":"We combine molecular biology, computational genomics and AI to investigate regulatory DNA and noncoding RNA function, with a particular focus on enhancer RNAs, post-transcriptional regulation and non-canonical mechanisms in health and disease.\nOur research Enhancer RNAs, cellular senescence, cancer and post-transcriptional gene regulation. Research themes Our tools and resources Software and reproducible workflows for computational genomics, regulatory biology and data analysis. Explore tools Our lab chatter Ideas, questions and the occasional rabbit hole from the lab. Read the blog ","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"Regulatory DNA and RNA function in health and disease","summary":"We combine molecular biology, computational genomics and AI to investigate regulatory DNA and noncoding RNA function, with a particular focus on enhancer RNAs, post-transcriptional regulation and non-canonical mechanisms in health and disease.\n","title":"Regulatory DNA and RNA function in health and disease","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/rna-biology/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"RNA Biology","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"4 October 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":" Research enquiries # School of Health\nLeeds Beckett University, PD511, Portland Building\nCity Campus, Leeds LS1 3HE\nChinedu A. Anene\nEmails # C.A.Anene@leedsbeckett.ac.uk\na.anene@qmul.ac.uk\nLinkedIn: Chinedu Anene, PhD\nTwitter: @caanenedr\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/contact/","section":"Regulatory DNA and RNA function in health and disease","summary":"Research enquiries # School of Health\nLeeds Beckett University, PD511, Portland Building\nCity Campus, Leeds LS1 3HE\nChinedu A. Anene\n","title":"Contact","type":"page"},{"content":" Principal Investigator # Chinedu A. Anene · ORCID\nPhD students # Rene Kuklinkova Characterisation of Senescent Cells across Human Tissues and Lifespan\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nInteger vitae lectus non justo interdum placerat.\nNatalia Benova Identification and Characterisation of Regulatory Noncoding Mutations in Ovarian Cancer\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\nInteger vitae lectus non justo interdum placerat.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nEmanuela Ibenye Mapping the Post-Transcriptional Regulatory Landscape of Enhancer RNAs in Cellular Homeostasis: Mechanisms of eRNA Regulation in Normal Physiology\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nChukwu Chibuike Victor Enhancer RNA Processing in Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development and Progression: Functional Roles and Therapeutic Potential\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nSunday Nweke Egwu Identifying Distal Silencer Elements from Transcriptional and Chromatin Accessibility Dynamics with In-Vitro Functional Validation\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nKingsley Anya Modelling Post-Transcriptional Enhancer RNA Function through Foundational AI Models for Rare Genetic Disease Interpretation\nInteger vitae lectus non justo interdum placerat.\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nDonec facilisis nulla vitae neque luctus dignissim.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nOkechukwu Emmanuel Akwa Modelling Post-Transcriptional Long Noncoding RNA Function for Prioritisation of Noncoding Mutations in Squamous Cell Carcinoma\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nDonec facilisis nulla vitae neque luctus dignissim.\nAlumni # Placeholder 01 BSC Placeholder 02 BSC Placeholder 03 BSC Placeholder 04 BSC Placeholder 05 BSC Placeholder 06 BSC Placeholder 01 MCS Placeholder 02 MCS Placeholder 03 MCS Placeholder 04 MCS Placeholder 05 MCS Placeholder 06 MCS ","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/group/","section":"Regulatory DNA and RNA function in health and disease","summary":"Principal Investigator # Chinedu A. Anene · ORCID\nPhD students # Rene Kuklinkova Characterisation of Senescent Cells across Human Tissues and Lifespan\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nInteger vitae lectus non justo interdum placerat.\nNatalia Benova Identification and Characterisation of Regulatory Noncoding Mutations in Ovarian Cancer\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\nInteger vitae lectus non justo interdum placerat.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nEmanuela Ibenye Mapping the Post-Transcriptional Regulatory Landscape of Enhancer RNAs in Cellular Homeostasis: Mechanisms of eRNA Regulation in Normal Physiology\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nChukwu Chibuike Victor Enhancer RNA Processing in Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development and Progression: Functional Roles and Therapeutic Potential\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nSunday Nweke Egwu Identifying Distal Silencer Elements from Transcriptional and Chromatin Accessibility Dynamics with In-Vitro Functional Validation\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nMauris tincidunt velit vel augue consequat cursus.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nKingsley Anya Modelling Post-Transcriptional Enhancer RNA Function through Foundational AI Models for Rare Genetic Disease Interpretation\nInteger vitae lectus non justo interdum placerat.\nLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nDonec facilisis nulla vitae neque luctus dignissim.\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nOkechukwu Emmanuel Akwa Modelling Post-Transcriptional Long Noncoding RNA Function for Prioritisation of Noncoding Mutations in Squamous Cell Carcinoma\nAliquam erat volutpat, sed posuere lorem at nibh.\nCurabitur blandit metus vitae lectus aliquet tempus.\nSuspendisse potenti, fusce quis sem ac velit posuere.\nVivamus euismod sapien sed purus feugiat volutpat.\nDonec facilisis nulla vitae neque luctus dignissim.\n","title":"Group","type":"page"},{"content":"We welcome enquiries from people interested in our research.\nCurrent vacancies # There are no funded vacancies currently advertised.\nInternships # Internships are available in bioinformatics only. Please get in touch with your interests, availability and a brief CV.\nPhD study # Our PhD projects involve either bioinformatics alone or a combination of bioinformatics and wet-lab research. Please send a brief outline of your interests and your CV. Admission follows the university’s application and review process.\nPostdoctoral fellowships # We are open to discussing support for postdoctoral fellowship applications where the proposed research fits the lab. Please get in touch with your research idea, CV and the fellowship scheme and deadline you have in mind.\nEnquiries: Chinedu A. Anene\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/positions/","section":"Regulatory DNA and RNA function in health and disease","summary":"We welcome enquiries from people interested in our research.\nCurrent vacancies # There are no funded vacancies currently advertised.\n","title":"Opportunities in AneneLab","type":"page"},{"content":"Molecular biology of enhancer RNAs: Defining how eRNA processing, stability, localisation and molecular interactions govern their functions, particularly in post-transcriptional regulation. [paper]\nSilencers and regulatory DNA: Identifying distal silencer elements through transcriptional and chromatin accessibility dynamics, and testing their regulatory functions experimentally. [paper]\nNoncoding RNA function and genetic variation: Investigating noncoding RNA regulatory networks and integrating molecular evidence with computational and AI models to interpret noncoding variants in health and disease. [paper]\nCancer: Investigating eRNA processing, long noncoding RNA function and regulatory noncoding mutations in ovarian cancer and squamous cell carcinoma, including their roles in post-transcriptional regulation, mechanical memory, metastasis and disease progression. [paper]\nAge-related macular degeneration: Investigating eRNA dysregulation and mechanoresponsive post-transcriptional networks, including their potential roles in pathological mechanical memory and retinal disease. [paper]\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/research/","section":"Regulatory DNA and RNA function in health and disease","summary":"Molecular biology of enhancer RNAs: Defining how eRNA processing, stability, localisation and molecular interactions govern their functions, particularly in post-transcriptional regulation. [paper]\nSilencers and regulatory DNA: Identifying distal silencer elements through transcriptional and chromatin accessibility dynamics, and testing their regulatory functions experimentally. [paper]\n","title":"Research themes and selected papers","type":"page"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"},{"content":" Our software and resources support computational genomics, regulatory biology and data analysis, from enhancer RNA research to broader bioinformatics workflows. eRNAkit # eRNAkit brings together annotations, datasets and computational tools for investigating enhancer RNA biology.\nExplore eRNAkit\nMore tools # Explore our other tools on GitHub for documentation, installation instructions and example workflows:\ngiExtract ACSNI Decosus RBPInper Browse all AneneLab repositories.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/software/","section":"Regulatory DNA and RNA function in health and disease","summary":" Our software and resources support computational genomics, regulatory biology and data analysis, from enhancer RNA research to broader bioinformatics workflows. eRNAkit # eRNAkit brings together annotations, datasets and computational tools for investigating enhancer RNA biology.\n","title":"Tools and resources","type":"page"}]