RNA Biology
AREA OF FOCUS
RNA Biology
Numerous human diseases, including several types of neurogenerative diseases and cancers, are caused by pathogenic RNA expression.
Such pathogenic changes can results from expansion of repeat sequences, splicing alterations, dysregulated expression and/or mislocalization in the wrong tissue or cell type.
Within MGM a strong group of RNA biologists perform high impact research to decipher the molecular mechanisms that contribute to muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurogenerative diseases (Ranum, Swanson, Wang, Kataro, Nguyen). This work is supported by ongoing collaborations with outstanding faculty in other departments at UF. In addition, MGM faculty study how microRNAs (miRNAs), small noncoding RNAs and long noncoding RNAs contribute to lymphoma, melanoma, and AIDS malignancies (Tibbetts, Ma, Renne, Gay), which bridges RNA biology with infectious disease research. MGM RNA biology laboratories apply state-of-the-art genetics and genomics tools to unravel underlying molecular details by which pathogenic RNA expression contributes to human disease. These studies address human diseases for which novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed.
Come join us!
Our highly interdisciplinary and collaborative RNA biology group provides an inclusive environment for trainees and scientists at all levels.
MGM Faculty Studying RNA Biology
David C Bloom, Ph.D.
Chair & Hazel Kitzman Professor of Genetics
Viral and neuron-specific factors that allow herpes simplex virus (HSV) to establish and maintain latency in neurons.
Kotaro Fujii, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Gene regulation focusing on mRNA translation in development and diseases, particularly those caused by protein aggregation such as neurodegenerative disorders.
Laura P W Ranum, Ph.D.
Kitzman Family Professor Of Molecular Genetics And Microbiology; Director Center For NeuroGenetics
Fundamental mechanisms and developing therapies for repeat expansion disorders and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Rolf Renne, Ph.D.
Henry E. Innes Professor of Cancer Research; Associate Director for Basic Science, UF Health Cancer Center
How latent gamma-herpesvirus (particularly KSHV) gene products, including microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs, contribute to viral tumorigenesis of AIDS malignancies.
Maurice S Swanson, Ph.D.
Professor; BMS PhD Program Concentration Director (Genetics)
Regulation of RNA processing, including roles of genomic repetitive elements in embryonic and postnatal development and expansion of short tandem repeats in neurological diseases.
Scott Tibbetts, Ph.D.
Professor; BMS PhD Program Concentration Director (Immunology / Microbiology)
Tumor virus interactions with the host immune system in an in vivo setting, with a particular emphasis on noncoding RNA biology.
Eric Wang, Ph.D.
Professor
Pathogenesis of microsatellite repeat diseases (eg, myotonic dystrophy), how RNA is processed and localized in cells in tissues, development of treatments for people with muscular dystrophy (DM) and other diseases.