The lab's work aims to determine the regulators that determine the conditions under which, and position(s) where, an RNA is capped in the cytoplasm. I am building a two-pronged collaborative basic science group that leverages RNA molecular biology tools with both specialized and traditional RNA sequencing approaches combined with long-read sequencing to elucidate how these RNA-mediated changes occur. The basic science research interests of the lab lie in the changes that occur in the RNA and molecular biology of cells when cellular stress responses converge to cause or exacerbate cardiovascular disease or cancer. This project is showing promise in cultured cancer cells and we are preparing to test the approach in animal models sometime in 2022. We are currently evaluating a handful of different mRNA-based strategies to counteract our targeted transcription factor. Since transcription factors are often considered ‘undruggable’ with traditional small molecule drugs, they are ideal targets for mRNA-based approaches.
This RNA therapy approach is in its early stages.įinally, we are also generating traditional mRNA therapy constructs to target an overexpressed transcription factor in glioblastoma multiforme, the most lethal type of brain cancer. These RNA therapeutic candidates are designed to slow the course of the infection by interfering with the virus's replication machinery. In addition to our COVID-19 vaccine effort, we are developing candidate RNAs designed to treat active coronavirus disease. We continue to develop this platform and look for opportunities to expand the applications for our general design. With funding from the HMRI, we’ve been able to develop a customizable second-generation RNA vaccine platform which we are testing in multiple applications. In addition to the circular RNA mentioned above, the lab has also been developing a novel RNA vaccine platform for COVID-19 and other diseases. We continue working on this project and recently presented our intermediate findings as a talk titled “ Construction of circular RNAs to block miRNA-driven oncogenic transformation” during the Annual Meeting of the ASGCT on May 11, 2021. Kiss a Career Development Award from The American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT). Shortly after the lab opened, we began working on our first therapeutic candidate, an RNA designed to counter genes driving oncogenic transformation and cell migration in certain breast cancers. Houston Methodist Research Institute, Department of RNA Therapeutics and Cardiovascular Sciences () The Center for RNA Therapeutics is an independent program at the HMRI and is currently growing by recruiting multiple new faculty over the next few years. We are currently working with collaborators across the United Sates to test how our candidates compare to other existing vaccine systems. As part of the Center, the lab has developed novel vaccine candidates for COVID-19 and other human diseases. Specifically, as a founding lab of the HMRI’s Center for RNA Therapeutics we continue to develop innovative RNA therapy options to transform human health by generating new RNA therapies to treat (or prevent) different conditions. Namely, developing novel RNA Therapeutics to treat and/or prevent human disease and performing experiments to understand fundamental mechanisms concerning the RNA molecular biology of mammalian cells.Īs we are housed inside the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI), the lab is committed to the translation of basic science discoveries to benefit human health.
The Kiss RNA lab currently focuses on two main areas of research.
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