The seventh Center of Excellence in Genomic Science in the United States will be established in Chicago, thanks to a $10.6 million award from the National Human Genome Research Institute.
The center, led by Chuan He, PhD, a professor in the department of chemistry at University of Chicago, will create new technologies to study how RNA is regulated by chemical modifications inside cells. Researchers will work to manipulate RNA modifications, in an effort to observe their effects on RNA metabolism and gene expression.
Ultimately, this focus on RNA modifications will be used to inform research on disease development, including neurological disorders and cancer. The center will also collaborate with researchers from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University and Atlanta-based Emory University to apply the center's technologies to studies of neurodevelopment and neurogenesis.