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Biography
Dr Nathan Archer is examining post-transcriptional gene regulation by mRNA modifications.
Nathan completed his PhD "Internal and Cap-Adjacent Modifications of Messenger RNA in Eukaryotic Systems" in 2014. After postdoctoral research at the University of Warwick examining biological and technical sources of single cell genetic heterogeneity, he returned to the Univeristy of Nottingham as a 糖心原创 fellow in 2018.
He recently completed his Nottingham Research Fellowship and was subsequently appointed as Assistant Professor in Epitranscriptomics. He has published key works in the RNA field, including characterising and correcting for sources of noise in gene expression data (Cell Systems. 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.cels.2016.10.012), and the characterisation of roles for epitranscriptomic marks in gene regulation (Nature. 2016, doi: 10.1038/nature20577; Nature Communications. 2022, doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28753-3; Nature Communications. 2022, doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28549-5). In 2025 Dr Archer was promoted to Associate Professor.
Expertise Summary
The Archer group studies mRNA modifications: chemical alterations to RNA that do not change the encoded protein but strongly influence when, where, and how efficiently proteins are made. These epitranscriptomic marks are essential for normal development, are disrupted in disease, and are actively exploited by viruses. Their work aims to define how such modifications regulate cellular processes and how this knowledge can be leveraged to design more effective mRNA-based therapies.
A central focus of the group's research is cap-adjacent modifications in animal mRNA, particularly Cap1, Cap2, and m6Am. The group investigates how these modifications shape the fate of mRNA after transcription, including effects on gene expression, RNA stability, translation, and immune recognition. Within the broader epitranscriptomics field, they dissect the enzymes that write and read these modifications, as well as the direct molecular consequences of these marks on mRNA behaviour, with the goal of defining the full "epicapome." The Archer group combines bioinformatics, mRNA fate assays such as polysome profiling and SLAM-seq, and radioisotope incorporation assays to understand these enigmatic phenomenon.
Selected Publications
HAUSSMANN IU, BODI Z, SANCHEZ-MORAN E, MONGAN NP, ARCHER N, FRAY RG and SOLLER M, 2016. Nature. 540(7632), 301-304
ARCHER, NATHAN, WALSH, MARK D., SHAHREZAEI, VAHID and HEBENSTREIT, DANIEL, 2016. CELL SYSTEMS. 3(5), 467-+
ARCHER, NATHAN, EGAN, SHARON A., COFFEY, TRACEY J., EMES, RICHARD D., ADDIS, M. FILIPPA, WARD, PHILIP N., BLANCHARD, ADAM M. and LEIGH, JAMES A., 2020. PATHOGENS. 9(12),
MONGAN, NIGEL P, EMES, RICHARD D and ARCHER, NATHAN, 2019. Detection and analysis of RNA methylation. F1000Research. 8,