Research Projects

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a disease caused by abnormal RNA binding proteins, such as TDP43, C9ORF72, and FUS. Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a treatment for ALS, targeting flawed transcripts. NMD targets Drosophila hsrω lncRNAs, which are involved in ALS pathogenesis through interactions with TDP43 and FUS. The cytoplasmic hsrω-c lncRNA may also affect NMD. This project aims to explore the regulatory interactions between NMD and hsrω lncRNAs and their impact on ALS pathogenesis. The research will also examine the regulatory interactions with Sat-III lncRNA, a human homolog of Drosophila hsrω lncRNA. The experimentally amenable Drosophila model will improve our understanding of gene expression and uncover a novel NMD-hsrω/Sat III lncRNAs-based regulatory mechanism for modulating ALS pathogenesis.