Dr. Srimonti Sarkar is interested in the process of tRNA export out of the nucleus. As a graduate student (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University), Dr. Sarkar pioneered the use of in situ hybridization analysis to localize tRNA within cells (S. Sarkar, and A.K. Hopper, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 9: 3041-3055, 1998). This technique was subsequently used to demonstrate that there are multiple pathways of tRNA nuclear export in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sarkar et. al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 96: 14366-14371, 1999). As a postdoctoral researcher (University of California, San Diego) she subsequently studied protein trafficking to the lysosome and the role of ubiquitin in this process. At UTech, Dr. Sarkar intends to continue her research on tRNA nuclear export with the goal of identifying novel export pathways.