Alternating electrostatic assembly is a tool that makes it possible to create ultrathin film coatings that contain highly controlled quantities of one or more therapeutic molecules within a singular construct. These release systems greatly exceed the usual ranges of traditional degradable polymers. The nature of the layering process enables the incorporation of different drugs within different regions of the thin-film architecture; the result is an ability to uniquely tailor both the independent-release profiles and order-of-release of each therapeutic to the targeted region of the body.
Dr. Chang’s research addresses how large sets of genes are turned on or off together, which is important in normal development, cancer, and aging. Chang discovered a new class of genes, termed long noncoding RNAs, can control gene activity throughout the genome, illuminating a new layer of biological regulation. He has invented new methods for defining the shapes of RNA and DNA genome-wide. The long term goal of his research is to decipher the regulatory information in the genome to benefit human health.
The Rice lab focuses on RNA viruses and is well known for its work on hepatitis C. Besides studies aimed at understanding basic viral replicative processes the lab also probes the interface between viruses and host intrinsic and innate immunity and small non-coding RNAs.
Steve Horvath, ScD, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
It has been a long standing goal to develop molecular biomarkers of biological age. Recent studies demonstrate that powerful epigenetic biomarkers of aging can be defined based on DNA methylation levels. For example, the epigenetic clock (PMID: 24138928) is a multivariate age estimation method that applies to sorted cell types (CD4T cells or neurons), complex tissues, and organs and even prenatal brain samples.
David Bartel, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNAs that pair to sites within messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to down-regulate the expression of protein-coding genes. These miRNAs play critical roles in mammalian biology and disease. Indeed, because miRNAs specify the repression of most human genes, it is hard to find a disease, developmental process, or physiological state that is not influenced in some way by miRNAs. For his lecture, Dr. Bartel will present an overview of miRNAs and their regulatory roles.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
