Our Members
The Lu laboratory aims to gather unique individuals passionate about RNA processing in hematopoiesis, immunity, and cancer.
Michal Sekrecki
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Michal is a medical biotechnologist with a PhD in biological sciences, fascinated by the world of non-coding RNAs and RNA processing. He earned his PhD in Krzysztof Sobczak's Lab at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland, where his doctoral work focused on miR-21 biogenesis and the interplay between splicing and polyadenylation in this process.
As a postdoctoral fellow in Sydney Lu's laboratory, Michal investigates how oncogenic SF3B1 mutations dysregulate non-coding regions of mRNA in hematologic malignancies. His work focuses on how mutant SF3B1 alters splicing and alternative polyadenylation of untranslated regions, with chronic lymphocytic leukemia as a primary disease model. His findings have uncovered novel transcript isoforms arising from these changes in non-coding mRNA regions, and he is actively exploring how the resulting alterations in gene expression can be therapeutically exploited using novel protein degrader molecules.
Michal believes that curiosity, collaboration, and persistence are the foundations of great science. In his free time, he competes in triathlons, plays pickleball, and enjoys board games.
"Science is like pickleball: fast, precise, and the best points come from angles nobody saw coming.”
Contact: sekrecki[at]stanford[dot]edu
Agata Sekrecka
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Agata is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying hematopoiesis and immunity, with the goal of translating these findings into new therapeutic approaches. For her MSc, she studied the effects of glucocorticoids on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. During her PhD, she investigated intracellular signaling downstream of type I and II interferons, focusing on how the GAF, ISGF3 and IRF1 complexes shape transcriptional responses over time and define both shared and distinct functions of IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma.
As a postdoctoral fellow, Agata studies how oncogenic SF3B1 mutations dysregulate mRNA processing to drive cancer. Her current focus is the role of SF3B1 mutations in alternative polyadenylation and mRNA 3' end formation, and how these alterations generate novel transcript isoforms in SF3B1-mutant malignancies. A particular interest is identifying neotranscripts arising from these changes that could serve as selective therapeutic targets in cancers bearing SF3B1 mutations.
In her free time, she enjoys birdwatching, swimming, cycling, pickleball, and board and video games.
Contact: a.sekrecka[at]stanford[dot]edu