We congratulate Konstantin for his successful PhD thesis defense. During the last years, Kons investigated how to annotate non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and how to improve their identification and classification.
NcRNAs are important regulatory RNA molecules that are involved in nearly all cellular processes, but are not translated into a protein. Compared to other achievements in the RNA world (mRNAs, tRNAs, …), the discovery of ncRNAs is still young and their functions are not always described.
Kons developed Gorap, a pipeline to quickly annotate genome sequences with different classes of ncRNAs. Not only does he combine several state-of-the-art tools for specific ncRNA classes, but further developed his own methods and thresholds for filtering and determining the correct class a potential novel ncRNA belongs to.
We say goodbye to a high-valued colleague and friend and wish Kons all the best for his future career and of course with his two baby-twins.