Carl D. Novina, M.D., Ph.D.Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
NEW-first of two-years 2019-2020
“The central organizing idea of biology (dogma) is that DNA (the blueprint of a cell), makes RNA (a messenger of information contained in the DNA) which in turn makes proteins (which carry out the activities of a cell).
Whereas most scientists and physicians study changes in the genes which make proteins, the Novina laboratory is studying a special class of genes which only make RNAs but do not make proteins. These long non-coding RNAs (a.k.a. lncRNAs) were only recently described and very little is understood about how they work. The Novina laboratory has developed a novel platform to identify which proteins bind to disease-relevant lncRNAs. Many lncRNAs frequently alter the activity of the proteins that are bound to them. The Novina laboratory was funded by the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation to identify how lncRNAs are altered function in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. Dr. Novina hopes that this work will significantly advance the field of lncRNA biology and accelerate the development of RNA-directed therapeutics.”