Daniel Lim
University of California-San Francisco, CA·Neuroscience
Most of the human genome does not code for proteins. Among its products are thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), RNA molecules that do not make protein but can still control how cells behave.
- Fields
Neuroscience
Genetics
Biology
- Topics
long noncoding RNA
lncRNA
noncoding genome
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Test whether the brain-specific lncRNA Pnky contains structural modules, such as a pseudoknot (a looped RNA fold), that are needed for its control of neuron production from neural stem cells.
- Determine how Pnky regulates PTBP1, a splicing regulator that guides neurogenesis, to control neural stem cell differentiation in culture and in the developing mouse cortex.
- Test whether lncRNAs, compared with coding genes, preferentially focus differentiation toward specific neural cell types, using CRISPRi screens and Perturb-Seq single-cell analysis in human iPSC-derived neural cells.
- Extend genome-scale CRISPRi screens to neurogenesis and study the function of selected lncRNAs in human brain organoids, lab-grown 3D models of developing brain tissue.
More about the research
The brain is especially rich in specific lncRNAs, and they have been linked to cancer, developmental delay, psychiatric illness and neurodegeneration. Yet the functions of very few are known. This project asks how lncRNAs guide brain development, studying one lncRNA in depth and thousands at once.
Why it matters
Abnormal production of specific lncRNAs appears to underlie diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Learning how lncRNAs work in the developing brain could help explain how they contribute to these disorders. It could also improve interpretation of gene-activity studies of brain development and support future treatments that use lncRNAs as therapeutic targets.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Lilia Iakoucheva
University of California-San Diego, CA·Neuroscience
Measure how different doses of PFAS chemicals affect the division, cell cycle and survival of human neural progenitor cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells.
Jidong Fu
Ohio State University, OH·Medicine & Clinical Research
Characterize how Masir, a membrane-associated long noncoding RNA, protects heart muscle cells from ischemic injury by enhancing membrane repair, and assess its safety in mouse models.
Joshua T Mendell
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, TX·Biochemistry
Determine how altering dihydrouridine synthase (DUS) activity changes D modifications on tRNAs, overall tRNA metabolism and the PTMD mRNA-decay pathway in human and mouse ccRCC cells.
The school
University of California-San Francisco: 89 labs on PI Pages, $2.1B a year on research, 164 research doctorates a year.
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