Home Department: undeclared
Mentor: Alice Ting (Genetics and Biology)

“Development of Novel RNA-Centric Proximity Labeling, RPEX”

Proximity labeling (PL) with promiscuous enzymes like APEX2 has transformed the study of protein interactions in living cells. However, its application in another important class of biomolecule – RNA – has not been widely adopted due to limited specificity and sensitivity. The goal of Albert’s project is to develop a clean, broadly applicable, and generalizable PL method for RNA-centered interactome mapping. To achieve this, Albert seeks to develop “RPEX” – an evolved variant of APEX2 activated exclusively upon binding to a target RNA molecule. This technology can then be used to elucidate RNA-protein and RNA-RNA interactions involved in human diseases such as cancer.