University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · BiologyRNA Structure and Gene Regulation Lab
Alain T Laederach · Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Research Focus
Professor Alain T Laederach's lab focuses on understanding how changes in RNA structure can affect gene expression, particularly in the context of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The research explores the influence of non-coding RNA regions on gene regulation and aims to uncover new targets for RNA-based therapies. By integrating advanced RNA probing technologies and transcriptomics, the lab seeks to shed light on the complexities of RNA structure and its role in disease.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseasenon-coding RNARNA structureRNA sequencinggene expression regulationalternative splicingRNA-targeting therapySNPstranscriptomics
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how RNA structures in UTRs are altered by SNPs
AIM 02Characterize changes in splicing and polyadenylation of COPD-associated genes
AIM 03Identify RNA structures that can be targeted for RNA therapeutics
AIM 04Develop 3D models of complex RNA structures
AIM 05Explore the regulatory role of RNA structure in gene expression and translation.
Skills the Lab Values
RNA sequencingRNA structure probingmolecular cloningcell culturedata analysis with R or Pythonbioinformaticspolymerase chain reaction (PCR)splicing analysisprotein expression analysis
Output against the department
Publications185top 35% of dept.362nd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations5.8kbottom 42% of dept.597th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.