An official website of the United States government
          Here’s how you know
        Here’s how you know**Official websites use .gov**A
              **.gov** website belongs to an official government
              organization in the United States.
        **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**A
              **lock** (
              Locked padlock icon) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
 Top Utility Nav
        
        
        Asian-Language Resources
        
        Portal en español


Site search Mega Menu
  

        

        Home
                  Health Topics
                                      
    
  Health Topics

    Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases
          
    Muscle and Bone Diseases
          
    Skin Diseases
          
    All Diseases and Conditions
          
    Publication Catalog
                  Grants & Funding
                                      
    
  Grants & Funding

    Current Funding Opportunities
          
    Supported Scientific Programs
          
    NIAMS-Supported Programs
          
    Applying for a Grant
          
    NIH Policies and Guidance
          
    Peer Review and Grants Administration Resources
          
    Types of Funding Mechanisms (Activity Codes)
                  Labs @ NIAMS
                                      
    
  Labs @ NIAMS

    NIAMS Labs and Core Facilities
          
    Research Faculty
          
    Research Areas
          
    NIAMS Scientific Advances
          
    Training and Career Development
                  Clinical Trials
                                      
    
  Clinical Trials
      
            For Principal Investigators

    Clinical Trial Policies, Guidelines, and Templates
          
    Conducting Clinical Trials
          
    Register with ClinicalTrials.gov

For Patients

What is a Clinical Trial?
	Clinical Trials at NIAMS
	Clinical Trials in the Spotlight
                  News & Events
                                      
    
  Newsroom

    All NIAMS News
          
    NIAMS Newsletters
          
    Meetings & Events
                  About NIAMS
                                      
    
  About NIAMS

    Director's Page
          
    NIAMS Organization
          
    Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2020-2024
          
    Staff Directory
          
    NIAMS Budget
          
    Partnerships
          
    Contact NIAMS
                  Community Outreach
                                      
    
  Community Outreach

    Bone Health
          
    Joint Health
          
    Muscle, Tendon, and Ligament Health
          
    Skin Health
          
    Health Information For Kids And Young Adults
          
    Health Information For Older Adults/Seniors
          
    Printable Materials for Community Events
          
    Resources in Other Languages
          
    Annual Health Observances
          
    Social Media Resources Breadcrumb
    Home
          About NIAMS
          Natalia Acevedo Luna, Ph.D.





Natalia Acevedo Luna, Ph.D.


Postdoctoral Fellow
    Laboratory of Muscle Stem Cells and Gene Regulation Photo of Natalia Acevedo Luna 
            Contact Information

                                                  301-827-6387
                
                                                9000 Rockville Pike
                  
                  
            Building 50, Room 1349
      
                                   Bethesda MD 20892
                
                                                natalia.acevedoluna@nih.gov 
                Summary
          Natalia Acevedo Luna, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Muscle Stem Cells and Gene Regulation at the NIAMS (NIH). She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, where she worked on the identification of *cis*-regulatory elements in the beta-globin locus of different species. During her pre-doctoral research appointment at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at NIH, Dr. Acevedo Luna worked on the genome-wide, *in-silico* identification of co-occurring transcription factor binding sites in *cis*-regulatory modules. Since then, she became particularly interested in applying computational and statistical approaches to predict transcription factor binding sites in promoter regions and the subsequent design and execution of experimental validation.

She received her Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from Iowa State University in August 2019. During her doctoral studies, she focused on the identification of candidate genes and potential gene regulatory networks involved in ciliogenesis in *Platynereis dumerilli*, a marine annelid. In the context of this non-conventional animal model and to circumvent the lack of an annotated genome, Dr. Acevedo Luna designed and implemented a web-interface database to access the *de-novo* assembled transcriptome and an online tool for RNA-seq data visualization integrating advanced components of statistical analysis that facilitate the annotation of novel transcripts.

In her postdoctoral training, Dr. Acevedo Luna is transitioning into a mammalian system allowing her to address additional questions regarding gene expression. More specifically, she is interested in understanding the role of non-coding RNAs in modulating chromatin 3D conformation and in the transcriptional activity of target genes in distal loci during skeletal muscle specification and development.
        
                  Research Statement
          
            Dr. Acevedo Luna's research focuses on the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression. She is particularly interested in understanding the role of non-coding RNAs in modulating chromatin 3D organization and the transcriptional activity of target genes during specification, differentiation, and regeneration of skeletal muscle cells.

Her research includes the design and implementation of data visualization tools that facilitate the analysis and accessibility of big datasets in this scope. Her ultimate goal is to hybridize *in-silico* with *in-vitro* approaches in order to predict and validate specific questions in regard to non-coding RNAs, epigenetics, and chromatin conformation changes contributing to regulation of gene expression during cell differentiation. 

            Scientific Publications
              PdumBase: a transcriptome database and research tool for Platynereis dumerilii and early development of other metazoans.

    Chou HC, Acevedo-Luna N, Kuhlman JA, Schneider SQ
        

                    BMC Genomics.
        
                    2018 Aug 16;
        
                    19(1).
        
                    doi: 10.1186/s12864-018-4987-0
                            PMID: 30115014
  Most of the tight positional conservation of transcription factor binding sites near the transcription start site reflects their co-localization within regulatory modules.

    Acevedo-Luna N, Mariño-Ramírez L, Halbert A, Hansen U, Landsman D, Spouge JL
        

                    BMC Bioinformatics.
        
                    2016 Nov 21;
        
                    17(1). 
          Education
              
            **Iowa State University**
Ph.D. Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (2019)

**Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá, Colombia)**
B.S. Biology (2007)             
                        Experience
              
            **Postdoctoral Fellowship**
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin diseases, Laboratory of Muscle Stem Cells and Gene Regulation. NIH.
Bethesda, MD (October 2019 - present)

**Graduate Research Assistant**
Iowa State University, Statistics Department. Ames, IA (2016 - 2019)

**Graduate Research Internship**
The European Molecular Laboratory (EMBL), Developmental Biology Branch. Heidelberg, Germany (2016)

**Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant**
Iowa State University, Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology Department. Ames, IA (2014 -2016)

**ORISE Research Fellow**
National Center for Biotechnology Information, Computational Biology Branch. NIH. Bethesda, MD (2011 - 2013)


Last Updated: February 2021


Back to Top
 About NIAMS
                    Clinical Trials
                    Grants & Funding
                    Health Topics
                    Labs @ NIAMS
              News Room
                    NIAMS Multimedia Library
                    Disclaimer
                    FOIA
                    Contact us
              Privacy Statement
                    Accessibility
                    HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
                    Social Media Moderation Policy
                    NIAMS Archives
        Subscribe to Our E-Newsletters
            Click the button to see different options to sign up for newsletters.
            Click Here to Subscribe
          Follow us on
  
  About NIH
                  Accessibility Support
            FOIA requests
                  No FEAR Act data
            Office of the Inspector General
                  Performance reports
            Privacy Policy