Anita Saraf

Anita Saraf
  • Director

Contact Info

Phone:
785-864-0692
1011 Shankel Structural Biology Center

Biography —

Anita Saraf brings to KU extensive knowledge and experience in proteomics and pharmaceutical research and development in both academic and industry settings. She joined the university in January 2021 from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri, where she had served as senior proteomics scientist since 2006. She previously held a senior research scientist role at Abbott Laboratories. 

Saraf earned a doctorate in mass spectrometry/analytical chemistry from Lund University in Sweden. She then did postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA), working with Professor John R. Yates III. Saraf has published extensively in the proteomics field.

Research —

Selected Publications

  1. Hollin T, Abel S, Falla A, Pasaje CFA, Bhatia A, Hur M, Kirkwood JS, Saraf A, Prudhomme J, De Souza A, Florens L, Niles JC, Le Roch KG. Functional genomics of RAP proteins and their role in mitoribosome regulation in Plasmodium falciparum. Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 11;13(1):1275. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28981-7.
  2. Sonpho E, Mann FG, Levy M, Ross EJ, Guerrero-Hernandez C, Florens L, Saraf A, Doddihal V, Ounjai P, and Sánchez Alvarado A. Decellularization Enables Functional Analysis of ECM Remodeling in Planarian Regeneration. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2021 Aug 18;20:100137. doi: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2021.100137.
  3. Yasukawa T, Tsutsui A, Tomomori-Sato C, Sato S, Saraf A, Washburn MP, Florens L, Terada T, Shimizu K, Conaway RC, Conaway JW, Aso T. NRBP1-Containing CRL2/CRL4A Regulates Amyloid β Production by Targeting BRI2 and BRI3 for Degradation. Cell Rep. 2020 Mar 10;30(10):3478-3491.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.059
  4. Takahashi H, Ranjan A, Chen S, Suzuki H, Shibata M, Hirose T, Hirose H, Sasaki K, Abe R, Chen K, He Y, Zhang Y, Takigawa I, Tsukiyama T, Watanabe M, Fujii S, Iida M, Yamamoto J, Yamaguchi Y, Suzuki Y, Matsumoto M, Nakayama KI, Washburn MP, Saraf A, Florens L, Sato S, Tomomori-Sato C, Conaway RC, Conaway JW, Hatakeyama S. The role of Mediator and Little Elongation Complex in transcription termination. Nat Commun. 2020 Feb 26;11(1):1063. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14849-1
  5. Batugedara G, Lu XM, Saraf A, Sardiu ME, Cort A, Abel S, Prudhomme J, Washburn MP, Florens L, Bunnik EM, Le Roch KG. The chromatin bound proteome of the human malaria parasite. Microb Genom. 2020 Feb;6(2). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.000327. Epub 2020 Feb 4
  6. Miah S, Banks CAS, Ogunbolude Y, Bagu ET, Berg JM, Saraf A, Tettey TT, Hattem G, Dayebgadoh G, Kempf CG, Sardiu M, Napper S, Florens L, Lukong KE, Washburn MP. BRK phosphorylates SMAD4 for proteasomal degradation and inhibits tumor suppressor FRK to control SNAIL, SLUG, and metastatic potential. Sci Adv. 2019 Oct 23;5(10):eaaw3113. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw3113. eCollection 2019 Oct.
  7. Nil Z, Hervás R, Gerbich T, Leal P, Yu Z, Saraf A, Sardiu M, Lange JJ, Yi K, Unruh J, Slaughter B, Si K. Amyloid-like Assembly Activates a Phosphatase in the Developing Drosophila Embryo. Cell. 2019 Oct 17;179(3):801. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.09.033
  8. Guillamot M, Ouazia D, Dolgalev I, Yeung ST, Kourtis N, Dai Y, Corrigan K, Zea-Redondo L, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Tikhonova AN, Malumbres M, Gong Y, Tsirigos A, Park C, Barbieri C, Khanna KM, Busino L, Aifantis I. The E3 ubiquitin ligase SPOP controls resolution of systemic inflammation by triggering MYD88 degradation. Nat Immunol. 2019 Sep;20(9):1196-1207. doi: 10.1038/s41590-019-0454-6. Epub 2019 Aug 12.
  9. Zhou N, Gutierrez-Uzquiza A, Zheng XY, Chang R, Vogl DT, Garfall AL, Bernabei L, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Illendula A, Bushweller JH, Busino L. RUNX proteins desensitize multiple myeloma to lenalidomide via protecting IKZFs from degradation. Leukemia. 2019 Aug;33(8):2006-2021. doi: 10.1038/s41375-019-0403-2. Epub 2019 Feb 13.
  10. Soffers JHM, Li X, Saraf A, Seidel CW, Florens L, Washburn MP, Abmayr SM, Workman JL. Characterization of a metazoan ADA acetyltransferase complex. Nucleic Acids Res. 2019 Apr 23;47(7):3383-3394. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz042
  11. Jeong YT, Simoneschi D, Keegan S, Melville D, Adler NS, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Cavasotto CN, Fenyö D, Cuervo AM, Rossi M, Pagano M.The ULK1-FBXW5-SEC23B nexus controls autophagy. Elife. 2018 Dec 31;7. pii: e42253. doi: 10.7554/eLife.42253
  12. Choi J, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Busino L. PTPN14 regulates Roquin2 stability by tyrosine dephosphorylation. Cell Cycle. 2018;17(18):2243-2255. doi: 10.1080/15384101.2018.1522912. Epub 2018 Sep 25
  13. Choi J, Lee K, Ingvarsdottir K, Bonasio R, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Tadros S, Green MR, Busino L. Loss of KLHL6 promotes diffuse large B-cell lymphoma growth and survival by stabilizing the mRNA decay factor roquin2. Nat Cell Biol. 2018 May;20(5):586-596. doi: 10.1038/s41556-018-0084-5. Epub 2018 Apr 25
  14. Vilhais-Neto GC, Fournier M, Plassat JL, Sardiu ME, Saraf A, Garnier JM, Maruhashi M, Florens L, Washburn MP, Pourquié O. The WHHERE coactivator complex is required for retinoic acid-dependent regulation of embryonic symmetry. Nat Commun. 2017 Sep 28;8(1):728. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00593-6.
  15. Kuchay S, Giorgi C, Simoneschi D, Pagan J, Missiroli S, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Collazo-Lorduy A, Castillo-Martin M, Cordon-Cardo C, Sebti SM, Pinton P, Pagano M. PTEN counteracts FBXL2 to promote IP3R3- and Ca2+-mediated apoptosis limiting tumor growth Nature. 2017 Jun 14. doi: 10.1038/nature22965
  16. Donato V, Bonora M, Simoneschi D, Sartini D, Kudo Y, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Stadtfeld M, Pinton P, Pagano M.The TDH-GCN5L1-Fbxo15-KBP axis limits mitochondrial biogenesis in mouse embryonic stem cells. Nat Cell Biol. 2017 Apr; 19(4):341-351. doi: 10.1038/ncb3491
  17. Sato S, Tomomori-Sato C, Tsai KL, Yu X, Sardiu M, Saraf A, Washburn MP, Florens L, Asturias FJ, Conaway RC, Conaway JW (2016). Role for the MED21-MED7 Hinge in Assembly of the Mediator-RNA Polymerase II Holoenzyme. J Biol Chem. 2016 Dec 23;291(52):26886-26898
  18. Bunnik EM, Batugedara G, Saraf A, Prudhomme J, Florens L, Le Roch KG (2016). The mRNA-bound proteome of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Genome Biol. Jul 5;17(1):147.
  19. Saraf A, Ponts N, Cervantes S, Sardiu ME, Chung DW, Prudhomme J, Wen Z, Varberg JM, Washburn MP, Florens L, Le Roch KG (2016). Dynamic and combinatorial landscape of histone modifications during the intraerythrocytic development cycle of the malaria parasite. J Proteome Research, 15(8): 2787–2801.
  20. Huang, F., Saraf, A., Florens, L., Kusch, T., Swanson, S.K., Szerszen, L.T., Li, G., Dutta, A., Washburn, M.P., Abmayr, S.M. and Workman, J.L. (2016) The Enok acetyltransferase complex interacts with Elg1 and negatively regulates PCNA unloading to promote the G1/S transition. Genes & Dev., 30(10):1198-210 [Epub 2016 May 15].
  21. Khan MR, Li L, Pérez-Sánchez C, Saraf A, Florens L, Slaughter BD, Unruh JR, Si K (2015). Amyloidogenic Oligomerization Transforms Drosophila Orb2 from a Translation Repressor to an Activator. Cell. Dec 3;163(6):1468-83
  22. Masuda Y, Takahashi H, Sato S, Tomomori-Sato C, Saraf A, Washburn MP, Florens L, Conaway RC, Conaway JW, Hatakeyama S (2015). TRIM29 regulates the assembly of DNA repair proteins into damaged chromatin. Nat Commun. Jun 22; 6:7299
  23. Skaar JR, Ferris AL, Wu X, Saraf A, Khanna KK, Florens L, Washburn MP, Hughes SH, Pagano M (2015). The Integrator complex controls the termination of transcription at diverse classes of gene targets. M. Cell Res. Mar; 25(3):288-305
  24. Pagan JK, Marzio A, Jones MJ, Saraf A, Jallepalli PV, Florens L, Washburn MP, Pagano M (2015). Degradation of Cep68 and PCNT cleavage mediate Cep215 removal from the PCM to allow centriole separation, disengagement, and licensing. Nat Cell Biol. Jan; 17(1):31-43
  25. Sardiu ME, Smith KT, Groppe BD, Gilmore JM, Saraf A, Egidy R, Peak A, Seidel CW, Florens L, Workman JL, Washburn MP (2014). Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA)-induced dynamics of a human histone deacetylase protein interaction network. Mol Cell Proteomics. Nov; 13(11):3114-25
  26. Lu S, Lee KK, Harris B, Xiong B, Bose T, Saraf A, Hattem G, Florens L, Seidel C, Gerton JL (2014). The cohesin acetyltransferase Eco1 coordinates rDNA replication and transcription. EMBO Rep. May; 15(5):609-17
  27. White-Grindley E, Li L, Mohammad Khan R, Ren F, Saraf A, Florens L, Si K (2014). Contribution of Orb2A stability in regulated amyloid-like oligomerization of Drosophila Orb2. PLoS Biol. Feb 11; 12(2)
  28. Cervantes S, Bunnik EM, Saraf A, Conner CM, Escalante A, Sardiu ME, Ponts N, Prudhomme J, Florens L, Le Roch KG (2014). The multifunctional autophagy pathway in the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Autophagy. Jan;10(1):80-92
  29. Bunnik EM, Chung DW, Hamilton M, Ponts N, Saraf A, Prudhomme J, Florens L, Le Roch KG (2013). Polysome profiling reveals translational control of gene expression in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Genome Biol. Nov 22; 14(11):R128
  30. Hu D, Smith ER, Garruss AS, Mohaghegh N, Varberg JM, Lin C, Jackson J, Gao X, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Eissenberg JC, Shilatifard A (2013). The little elongation complex functions at initiation and elongation phases of snRNA gene transcription. Mol Cell. Aug 22;51(4):493-505
  31. Kuchay S, Duan S, Schenkein E, Peschiaroli A, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Pagano M (2013). FBXL2- and PTPL1-mediated degradation of p110-free p85 regulatory subunit controls the PI3K signalling cascade. Nat Cell Biol. May; 15(5):472-80
  32. Rossi M, Duan S, Jeong YT, Horn M, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Antebi A, Pagano M (2013). Regulation of the CRL4Cdt2 Ubiquitin Ligase and Cell-Cycle Exit by the SCFFbxo11 Ubiquitin Ligase. Mol Cell. Mar 28;49(6):1159-66
  33. Jeong YT, Rossi M, Cermak L, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Sung P, Schildkraut C, Pagano M (2013). FBH1 mediates DNA double strand breakage and apoptosis in response to DNA replication stress. J. Cell Biol. Jan 21; 200(2):141-9
  34. D'Angiolella V, Donato V, Forrester FM, Jeong YT, Pellacani C, Kudo Y, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Pagano M (2012). Cyclin F-mediated degradation of ribonucleotide reductase M2 controls genome integrity and DNA repair. Cell. May 25; 149(5):1023-34
  35. Smith ER, Lin C, Garrett AS, Thornton J, Mohaghegh N, Hu D, Jackson J, Saraf A, Swanson SK, Seidel C, Florens L, Washburn MP, Eissenberg JC, Shilatifard A (2011). The little elongation complex regulates small nuclear RNA transcription. Mol. Cell. Dec 23; 44(6):954-65
  36. *Saraf A, *Ponts N, Chung DW, Harris A, Prudhomme J, Washburn MP, Florens L, LeRoch KG (2011). Unraveling the ubiquitome of the human malaria parasite. J. Biol. Chem. Nov 18; 286(46):40320-30.
  37. Kim JH, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn M, Workman JL (2010). Gcn5 regulates the dissociation of SWI/SNF from chromatin by acetylation of Swi2/Snf2. Genes Dev. Dec 15; 24(24):2766-71
  38. Pavelka N, Rancati G, Zhu J, Bradford WD, Saraf A, Florens L, Sanderson BW, Hattem GL, Li R (2010). Aneuploidy confers quantitative proteome changes and phenotypic variation in budding yeast. Nature. Nov 11; 468(7321):321-5
  39. D'Angiolella V, Donato V, Vijayakumar S, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Dynlacht B, Pagano M (2010). SCF (Cyclin F) controls centrosome homeostasis and mitotic fidelity through CP110 degradation. Nature. Jul 1; 466(7302):138-42
  40. Skaar JR, Richard DJ, Saraf A, Toschi A, Bolderson E, Florens L, Washburn MP, Khanna KK, Pagano M (2009). INTS3 controls the hSSB1-mediated DNA damage response. J. Cell Biol. Oct 5; 187(1):25-32
  41. Takahashi YH, Lee JS, Swanson SK, Saraf A, Florens L, Washburn MP, Trievel RC, Shilatifard A (2009). Regulation of H3K4 trimethylation via Cps40 (Spp1) of COMPASS is monoubiquitination independent: implication for a Phe/Tyr switch by the catalytic domain of Set1. Mol. Cell. Biol. Jul; 29(13):3478-86
  42. Warder SE, Tucker LA, Strelitzer TJ, McKeegan EM, Meuth JL, Jung PM, Saraf A, Singh B, Lai-Zhang J, Gagne G, Rogers JC (2009). Reducing agent-mediated precipitation of high-abundance plasma proteins. Anal. Biochem. Apr 15; 387(2):184-93
  43. Zhang D, Saraf A, Kolasa T, Bhatia P, Zheng GZ, Patel M, Lannoye GS, Richardson P, Stewart A, Rogers JC, Brioni JD, Surowy CS (2007). Fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors display broad selectivity and inhibit multiple carboxylesterases as off-targets. Neuropharmacology. Mar; 52(4):1095-105
  44. Zhang D, Chen J, Saraf A, Cassar S, Han P, Rogers JC, Brioni JD, Sullivan JP, Gopalakrishnan M (2006). Association of Catsper1 or -2 with Ca(v)3.3 leads to suppression of T-type calcium channel activity. J. Biol. Chem. Aug 4; 281(31):22332-41
  45. Reynolds SJ, Milton DK, Heederik D, Thorne PS, Donham KJ, Croteau EA, KellyKM, Douwes J, Lewis D, Whitmer M, Connaughton I, Koch S, Malmberg P, Larsson BM, Deddens J, Saraf A, Larsson L (2005). Interlaboratory evaluation of endotoxin analyses in agricultural dusts--comparison of LAL assay and mass spectrometry. J Environ. Monit. Dec; 7(12):1371-7
  46. Tabb DL, Saraf A, Yates JR 3rd (2003). GutenTag: high-throughput sequence tagging via an empirically derived fragmentation model. Anal. Chem. Dec 1; 75(23):6415-21
  47. Hines CJ, Waters MA, Larsson L, Petersen MR, Saraf A, Milton DK (2003). Characterization of endotoxin and 3-hydroxy fatty acid levels in air and settled dust from commercial aircraft cabins. Indoor Air. Jun; 13(2):166-73
  48. *Saraf A, *MacCoss MJ, *McDonald WH, Sadygov R, Clark JM, Tasto JJ, Gould KL, Wolters D, Washburn M, Weiss A, Clark JI, Yates JR 3rd (2002). Shotgun identification of protein modifications from protein complexes and lens tissue. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. Jun 11; 99(12):7900-5.
  49. Sadygov RG, Eng J, Durr E, Saraf A, McDonald WH, MacCoss MJ, Yates JR 3rd (2002). Code developments to improve the efficiency of automated MS/MS spectra interpretation. J. Proteome Res. May-Jun; 1(3):211-15
  50. Liu LJ, Krahmer M, Fox A, Feigley CE, Featherstone A, Saraf A, Larsson L (2000). Investigation of the concentration of bacteria and their cell envelope components in indoor air in two elementary schools. J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc. Nov; 50(11):1957-67
  51. Saraf A, Larsson L, Larsson BM, Larsson K, Palmberg L (1999). House dust induces IL-6 and IL-8 response in A549 epithelial cells. Indoor Air. Dec; 9(4):219-25
  52. Saraf A, Park JH, Milton DK, Larsson L (1999). Use of quadrupole GC-MS and ion trap GC-MS-MS for determining 3-hydroxy fatty acids in settled house dust: relation to endotoxin activity. J. Environ. Monit. Apr; 1(2):163-8
  53. Krahmer M, Fox K, Fox A, Saraf A, Larsson L (1998). Total and viable airborne bacterial load in two different agricultural environments using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and culture: a prototype study. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. Aug; 59(8):524-31
  54. Saraf A, Larsson L, Burge H, Milton D (1997). Quantification of ergosterol and 3-hydroxy fatty acids in settled house dust by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: comparison with fungal culture and determination of endotoxin by a Limulus amebocyte lysate assay. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. Jul; 63(7):2554-9
  55. Larsson L, Saraf A (1997). Use of gas chromatography ion trap tandem mass spectrometry for the detection and characterization of microorganisms in complex samples. Mol. Biotechnol. Jun; 7(3):279-87
  56. Saraf A, Larsson L (1996). Use of gas chromatography-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of chemical markers of microorganisms in organic dust. J. Mass Spectrom. 31:389-396
  57. Zhiping W, Malmberg P, Larsson BM, Larsson K, Larsson L, Saraf A (1996). Exposure to bacteria in swine-house dust and acute inflammatory reactions in humans. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. Nov; 154(5):1261-6
  58. Axelsson BO, Saraf A, Larsson L (1995). Determination of ergosterol in organic dust by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. J. Chromatogr., B: Anal. Technol. Biomed. Life Sci. Apr 7; 666(1):77-84

*Authors contributed equally to work