Dr. Trapnell studies the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer. When tissue is damaged (e.g. by radiation or carcinogens), this class of genes may cause cancer or make it more difficult to treat. Using software and mathematics that he has developed for the analysis of massive-scale sequencing data, he aims to discover which genes are misregulated by lncRNA in tumor cells. This research may lead to the discovery of lncRNAs that could be targeted to halt cancer progression.

 

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Project Title: "Globally characterizing lncRNA oncogenes with next-generation transcriptomics"

Institution: Harvard University

Sponsor(s) / Mentor(s): John L. Rinn, PhD

Cancer Type: All cancers

Research Area: RNA