Recent scientific discoveries on RNA —the molecule of the cell that links all life processes— are leading a medical revolution.
Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and viral infections devastate millions of people and their families since for many of these diseases there is no definitive cure or even adequate treatment.
Less than two decades ago, the Human Genome Project revealed that only less than 2% of the genome codes for proteins. We are now discovering that non-coding RNAs play central roles in many aspects of cellular physiology and human diseases. Studying these functions has the potential to revolutionize medicine and will possibly eradicate all human diseases.
Understanding RNA is highly challenging and requires studies from single bacterial cells at nanometer scales to complex interactions between the 60 trillion cells of the human body. RNA research needs scientists from biology to engineering, computational science to medicine to come together and create synergies to lay the foundations for the therapies of the future.
For more information, please contact Martina Jerant at mjerant@umich.edu.
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