Impacts

A bold research agenda

The range and depth of disciplinary expertise at the center opens the way for faculty to take on some of the most challenging problems of RNA research.

Linking experimental with computational science. At UC Santa Cruz, there has long been a fruitful connection between experimental and computational research. Our computational biologists have led the international effort to assemble the human genome and have established the Santa Cruz Genome Browser, which is used globally to exploit the unprecedented explosion of sequence information in the human genome databases. Others are developing powerful computational methods to understand cancer and other diseases, and potentially to treat defects in the immune system. The lines between the two methods of discovery are increasingly blurring, with many examples of faculty blending experimental work with computational methods to more rapidly and thoroughly understand RNA processes. 

Disease diagnosis and treatment.
Center faculty are focusing on a range of diseases and conditions.  

• Most human viral diseases are caused by RNA viruses—COVID, influenza, polio, rabies, the common cold, HIV/AIDS, and countless other diseases. The discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines will almost certainly enhance prevention and treatment of all these viral diseases.  
• Cancer is the focus for a number of early- career researchers. For example, UCSC scientists have developed blood tests that have the potential to detect cancers at early stages, even revealing its location in the body. Computational tools are helping scientists understand how defects in RNA impact cancer growth. Others are working on developing medications based on RNA sequences to treat RNA-based diseases. Pediatric cancers, including rare ones, are the target of much work based at UCSC’s Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative. 
• Other researchers are working to understand neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, as well as disruptions of the immune system caused by RNA “splicing mistakes.”

Further, the center faculty and research questions also intersect with the university’s other research strengths, such as those in genomics and in other areas of biology, chemistry, and computer and biomedical engineering. This work also intersects with fundamental questions of ethics, identity, and social justice—areas where UC Santa Cruz has been a pioneer and leader. We expect these interconnections to grow deeper as this work continues. There are no limits to the power of collaboration.