RNA

Manuel Ascano, associate professor of biochemistry and pathology, microbiology and immunology, and Dr. Alissa Weaver, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Extracellular Vesicle Research, are one of nine U.S. research teams awarded funding from the National Science Foundation to more fully understand the potential biotechnological uses of RNA, ranging from crop disease protection to treatments that combat cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers detail the landscape of RNA editing — a form of RNA modification — in primary effusion lymphoma cells during Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection and identify an edited viral microRNA that is critical for infection. Read More

A collaborative project between the labs of Maulik Patel and Kris Burkewitz has identified a new molecular pathway that plays a key role in the ability of cells to sense and respond to stressed mitochondria. Read More

Small RNAs — short stretches of genetic material — from microbes may be playing a role in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Read More

A cellular RNA quality control mechanism was known to restrict replication of RNA viruses. Vanderbilt researchers have discovered it is also antiviral against DNA viruses. Read More

New insights on influenza genome packaging could guide strategies for interfering with the virus's life cycle and ability to cause infection. Read More

Heather Pua, MD, PhD, one of 60 investigators to receive the 2019 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, will explore a novel type of cell signaling by RNAs in allergic airway inflammation. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have found that non-coding regions of the genome appear to contribute to the risk of autoimmune diseases and may represent attractive therapeutic targets. Read More

In budding yeast, accumulation of a certain type of RNA in the nucleus increased life span, offering a new clue to longevity. Read More

The 2C-subtype of the serotonin receptor (5HT2C), which binds the neurotransmitter serotonin, plays an important role in regulating food intake and metabolism. Read More

Investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have published research regarding an important feature of colorectal cancer (CRC) that could eventually lead to the development of non-invasive means of monitoring cancer progression. After lung cancer, CRC is the second-most lethal cancer in the United States. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that profound defects exist in the integrity of structural RNA molecules in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers designed micelle “packets” to selectively deliver anti-cancer drugs to breast cancer cells. Read More

Robert Coffey Jr., M.D., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt University, has received a five-year, $5.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the role of extracellular RNA (ex-RNA) in colorectal cancer. Read More

Joan Steitz, Ph.D., recipient of the 2012 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, will deliver her Vanderbilt Prize Lecture on Thursday, May 2. Read More

There’s been an explosion in the world of RNA — the nucleic acid “copy” of DNA, Nobel laureate Phillip Sharp, Ph.D., told the crowd gathered for his Flexner Discovery Lecture. Read More

Lynne Maquat, Ph.D., the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics at the University of Rochester, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Dec. 6. Read More

Modifying a form of RNAs may improve their efficacy for research and medical uses. Read More