Project Grant F32GM165107

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, through its University of Nebraska Medical Center division, $152,600 under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) on January 13, 2027, to fund a fellowship project examining the relationship between three-dimensional exon-exon DNA folding and RNA splicing.

The research defines the mechanistic and temporal relationship between chromatin structure and co-transcriptional splicing through two integrated aims. In Aim 1, synchronized transcriptional activation in HCT116 cells will dissect the timing of exon-exon DNA folding, RNA polymerase progression, histone modifications, and spliceosome recruitment using high-resolution HI-C, CUT & RUN, CUT & TAG, and long-read nascent RNA sequencing. In Aim 2, the role of specific histone modifications in modulating internucleosomal interactions will be evaluated using reconstituted chromatin arrays, assessed via atomic force microscopy and in vitro micro-C. The fellowship provides training in genomics, chromatin biochemistry, and single-molecule AFM imaging, with applicant proficiency development in nanopore sequencing, bioinformatics, and chromatin nanoimaging conducted in the Rowley and Lyubchenko Laboratories.

Performance occurs in Omaha, Nebraska. The project runs through July 31, 2029. This is a Project Grant, an assistance type within NIGMS's portfolio of investigator-initiated biomedical research funding.