Research

At present, the Agris RNA Lab conducts research into four RNA functions, three of which are biomedical:

1. Transfer RNA regulated gene expression in Gram-positive pathogens as a way to develop a novel antibiotic refractory to emergent resistance.
2. The biochemical relationship of Cdkal1, a human tRNA modification enzyme, of which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have a strong association with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D).
3. Codon usage bias in the human heart may regulate the translation of specific protein translation and therefore heart health and in addition provide keys to congenital heart disease.
4. Modifications of the tRNA anticodon domain and mRNA coding sequences that regulate translation of proteins.