Project Grant 2330283

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $1,199,997 Project Grant under its Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to the University of Colorado-Denver. The grant will fund research to improve understanding of the mechanisms underlying messenger RNA (mRNA) localization and translation, and develop machine learning models to better predict protein production from mRNA. The project will apply recent advancements in RNA sequencing technology to study how factors like tRNA abundance and mRNA subcellular location influence protein synthesis. The research aims to identify organism-level rules and tissue-specific patterns of translational optimization that can be validated against proteomic datasets and tested on synthetic gene constructs. In addition to the research activities, the grant will provide interdisciplinary training opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students, as well as outreach about modern RNA sequencing techniques to local high school students. The award period is from January 2024 through December 2026.