RNA Therapeutics & Cancer

In Simple Terms

Cancer cells are addicted to making protein. To grow and divide faster than normal cells they hijack the RNA reading machinery and the chemical marks that regulate it. That dependence is also a weakness: if we understand exactly which messages a tumour relies on, and how it protects them, we can look for ways to cut off that supply or to make the cancer respond better to treatment. We map these RNA-level controls in blood cancers such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma, and ask which of them could be turned into targets or markers.

The Science

We profile translational control and RNA-protein interactions in cancer using TCP-seq and STE alongside dirCLIP, a direct cross-linking and immunoprecipitation protocol with an integrated pipeline for mapping where regulatory proteins bind messages. Combined with modification mapping, this defines the therapeutic epitranscriptome of blood cancers, supports accurate molecular subtyping, and highlights RNA-level dependencies underlying drug resistance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The intent is to move from descriptive maps toward actionable targets and prognostic markers rooted in how tumours regulate their own RNA.

Team

• Dr Nikolay ShirokikhLead
• Prof Alice CleynenLead
• Dr Danielle RudlerSenior Postdoctoral Staff Scientist
• Jaxon MadeleyMasters student
• Agin RavindranGuest Scientist

Tools & Methods

Key Publications

All publications