THINC News - 2021
The Wilusz lab joins THINc and BCM
December 6, 2021 - Dr. Jeremy Wilusz, CPRIT scholar and THINC’s most recent faculty recruit, and lab officially join BCM. His group studies how noncoding RNAs are generated, regulated, and function to generate novel RNA biology insights and new methods to treat disease. Welcome! We are excited to have you at BCM!
Dr. Courtney Hodges publishes Study in Science
November 25, 2021 - THINC member Dr. Courtney Hodges and colleagues published their work describing a network of interactions required for transcription elongation in the journal Science. They found that the transcription elongation machinery is linked via TFIIS N-terminal domains (TNDs) and conserved unstructured sequences called “TND-interacting motifs” (TIMs) and revealed the structural basis for these interactions.
THINC members reveal new insights into how the brain functions
October 8, 2021 - Dr. Md. Abul Hassan Samee, Dr. James Martin and colleagues have published a new study describing the development of advanced computational methods that led to new insights into the intricacies of brain structure and function that may enhance the understanding of this complex organ, both in health and disease.
Dr. Eric Van Nostrand receives NHGRI Genomic Innovator Award
September 30, 2021 - Dr. Eric Van Nostrand received an R35 Genome innovator award from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to fund his research into how the human body regulates and processes RNA and how viruses and other diseases have compromised these functions.
Dr. Xiaolong Jiang wins the 2021 John S. Dunn Collaborative Award
September 9, 2021 - THINC member and assistant professor of neuroscience, Dr. Xiaolong Jiang, along with his team mate, Dr. Jun Wang, associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, received the 2021 John S. Dunn Collaborative Award presented by Gulf Coast Consortia.
Dr. Steven Mack publishes work in Cancer Discovery
September 1, 2021 - Dr. Steven Mack and collaborators, including members of the THINC therapeutic team, have published their studies investigating the biology of ZFTA–RELA-driven ependymoma, an aggressive poorly understood brain tumor. They revealed mechanisms of transcriptional deregulation and direct downstream gene networks that may be leveraged for potential therapeutic testing.
DR. Rui chen awarded Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Pediatric Networks for the Human Cell Atlas grant
August 27, 2021 - Dr. Rui Chen and Baylor colleagues were awarded a $2.5 million Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Pediatric Networks for the Human Cell Atlas grant to create an atlas of genes and proteins of the human eye across pediatric development.
THINC member Dr. Changyi (Johnny) Chen publishes study describing improved nanoparticle delivery system for therapeutic nucleic acids
August 25, 2021 - In a new study, Dr. Changyi (Johnny) Chen and colleagues successfully linked an antibody to their previously developed nanoparticle to improve delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids to pancreatic cancer cells. This improved nanoparticle delivery system is a technological platform that can be extended to other cancer types or diseases for the development of new treatments, molecular diagnosis strategies or vaccines.
Dr. Monica Pillon publishes her work on Nsp15 in NAR
August 17, 2021 - Dr. Monica Pillon and colleagues published their studies into how the uridine specific endoribonuclease Nsp15 recognizes and processes viral RNA. This work furthers our understanding of how coronaviruses cleave viral RNA and evade host immune defense systems and will aid in the development of new anti-viral therapeutics.
Dr. Trey Westbrook and colleagues publish study in Cancer Cell
July 2, 2021 - In collaboration with the Yeo lab at UCSD, Dr. Trey Westbrook published work in Cancer Cell that reveals the therapeutic potential of RBPs by uncovering a critical role for YTHDF2 in counteracting the global increase of mRNA synthesis in MYC-driven breast cancers.
THINC Member Dr. James Martin publishes study on promising new gene therapy
June 30, 2021 - Dr. James Martin and colleagues have published preclinical gene therapy studies in pigs which reveal that targeting the Hippo Kinase pathway in failing hearts is a promising strategy for promoting tissue repair and functional recovery during heart failure. This work was published in Science Translational Medicine and has been featured in the Houston Chronicle among others.
THINC’s newest faculty member, Dr. Furqan Fazal, opens his lab
June 28, 2021 - Dr. Fazal, a CPRIT scholar, has opened his lab at BCM. His group will study the subcellular localization of RNA in development and disease. Welcome! We are excited to work with you!
THINC Member Dr. Pavil SUmazin Publishes comprehensive atlas of human transcriptome
June 17, 2021 - Dr. Pavil Sumazin and colleagues have built one of the most comprehensive catalogs of the human transcriptome ever and published this work in Nature Biotechnology. The study identified thousands of previously uncharacterized RNAs including non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and furthered our understanding of the function of these newly discovered RNAs.
BCM & Dr. Damian Young, thinc founding scientist, announce Blue square discoveries
May 17, 2021 - Deerfield Management Company and BCM announced a major research collaboration to advance promising therapeutics and support pharmaceutical research and discovery. Deerfield pledged up to $130 million over 10 years to the Blue Square Discoveries program with the goals of accelerating BCM’s biomedical discoveries and bringing life-saving therapeutics to market. Dr. Young will serve as the Scientific Business Development Manager for the collaboration.
Dr. Hoda Zoghbi publishes work describing novel treatment for RETt syndrome patients
March 24, 2021 - New work published in Nature by Dr. Hoda Zoghbi and colleagues reveals that early training before symptoms appear could help individuals with Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, retain specific motor and memory skills and delay the onset of the condition.
Welcome Pillon Lab!
February 1, 2021 - Dr. Monica Pillon, CPRIT Scholar and THINC’s newest faculty recruit, officially opened her lab. Her group will study how RNA processing and decay complexes are regulated utilizing structural biology, enzymology, molecular biology, and cell biology approaches. Welcome to BCM! We are excited to work alongside you!
Dr. Tom Cooper publishes work on cariac disease in model of myotonic dystrophy
January 26, 2021 - In Dr. Tom Cooper’s most recent study, he and his colleagues focused on the cardiac aspects of myotonic dystrophy. Utilizing a novel mouse model, they observed that the animals reproduced many of the cardiac characteristics observed in the disease and identified potential tissue-specific mechanisms contributing to cardiac pathogenesis.
Dr. Trey Westbrook and colleagues publish recent work in cell
January 14, 2021 - Dr. Trey Westbrook in collaboration with THINC therapeutic team members have discovered how therapeutics targeting RNA splicing can activate antiviral immune pathways in triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) to trigger tumor cell death and signal the body’s immune response. The new study published in Cell shows that endogenous mis-spliced RNA in tumor cells mimics an RNA virus, leading tumor cells to self-destruct as if fighting an infection.