RNA Modifications, Intellect, and NeuroDegeneration Lab (RNA-MIND)

The RNA Modifications, Intellect, and NeuroDegeneration (RNA-MIND) Lab at New York University Abu Dhabi aims to delineate the molecular mechanisms involving dynamic RNA modifications and their function in synaptic, neuronal, and behavioral plasticity. RNA modifications, including more than 50 found in human cells and 120 in microbes and pathogens, hold vast potential to overwrite and redefine life sciences and medicine by coding for cellular functions with unprecedented complexity. The dynamic and responsive nature renders this regulatory pathway well poised to support the highly adaptive functions of our brain cells, such as forming cellular engrams of learning. Nonetheless, the mechanisms connecting RNA regulation and cognitive function remain largely obscure.

At the RNA-MIND lab, we use cutting-edge detection and intervention technologies to chart unknown connections between RNA-based regulation of cellular function and cognitive functions of the brain. To advance our understanding of how individuals' brains are wired through the lens of RNA regulation, we use genetically engineered mice and human cells along with a combination of highly sensitive techniques ranging from bioinformatics, biochemical assays, cell culture, and cellular fluorescence imaging, to in vivo neuronal activity recording, next-generation sequencing, and automated behavioral analysis. We believe that our findings will contribute to the acceleration of a new generation of RNA therapies to combat neurological and mental health disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

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Critical questions are addressed in key areas: health-related neurological dysfunctions and the development of new technology.