Grant ID RP100456
Awarded On January 20, 2010
Title Photonic Probes for Functional Anaylsis of microRNAs and mRNAs in Living Cells
Program Academic Research
Award Mechanism Individual Investigator
Institution/Organization The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Principal Investigator/Program Director Wen-hong Li
Cancer Sites Basic Science, Multiple Sites
Contracted Amount $755,754
Lay Summary

microRNA has emerged as a key player in human diseases including cancer. Understanding the regulation of microRNA biogenesis, target recognition, and cellular localization not only offers us mechanistic insights on how miRNAs function in cells, but will also aid us to develop more accurate diagnostics and effective therapeutics against cancer. This proposal aims to fill a major technological gap in studying miRNA biology: to visualize and to manipulate endogenous miRNAs in living cells with high spatial and temporal resolution in order to perform functional analysis of microRNA:target mRNA interactions. Initial applications of these reagents will focus on a model organism, the nematode Caeno...

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