Functional Dissection of the Noncoding Genome and Unlocking Their Applications

Approximately 80% of the mammalian genome is transcribed in a cell-specific manner, producing diverse noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) whose dysregulation is linked to human diseases. The long-term goal of my laboratory is to explore the noncoding genome by fully annotating the life cycles and mechanisms of these enigmatic molecules—a task that remains far from complete.

Our current research addresses three fundamental questions: (1) How do long ncRNAs regulate nuclear bodies to coordinate gene expression? (2) How are their processing, nuclear retention, and export achieved and linked to function? (3) How do RNA folding–function relationships dictate their modes of action, and how can these principles be applied to develop new therapeutic modalities, particularly circular RNAs? We anticipate that ongoing investigations will yield unexpected insights into these emerging molecules, with far-reaching implications for human health and biomedical applications.