The Chicago Biomedical Consortium is pleased to announce two awards as a result of its Spring 2007 Catalyst RFA process. Below are brief summaries of the funded projects.
"Chicago Consortium in Diabetes and Obesity Genetics" led by Joseph Bass (Northwestern University), Nissim Hay (UIC), and Graeme Bell (University of Chicago):
The "Chicago Consortium in Diabetes and Obesity Genetics" seeks to capitalize on the expertise already in place at three major Chicago research institutions through the creation of an umbrella program. The program will generate state-of-the-art disease models and application of novel analytic methods ("proteomic" and "array") that will ultimately translate into new treatments for patients with diabetes and obesity.
"Gene Regulation by Natural Antisense RNAs in Yeast" led by Erik Sontheimer (Northwestern University), Jonathan Staley (University of Chicago), and Manyuan Long (University of Chicago):
This work seeks to uncover the true extent of RNA double helix formation in a single cell type. The anticipated outcome will enable researchers to test the roles of RNA double helices in specific cellular processes, including those that affect human health and disease.