Project Term:2017-2018
Budget: About NT$3.3 million
Origin: The Tang Prize is awarded on a biennial basis, each with a cash reward of NT$40 million. Projects proposed by the laureates also receive a grant of up to NT$10 million. The 2016 grant for Biopharmaceutical Science is shared between Dr. Charpentier, Dr. Doudna, and Dr. Feng Zhang.
Project Summary: Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna, the 2016 Tang Prize laureate in Biopharmaceutical Science, has decided to use the research grant to study the possibility that human translation can indeed serve as a target for therapeutic development. Funds from the Tang Prize will be used to explore human translation initiation factor eIF3 as a potential target for a range of human diseases including cancer. Dr. Doudna and her team proposed to leverage genome editing using CRISPR/CAS9 to engineer cells to explore how eIF3 regulates gene expression of specific mRNAs. They aim to combine systems biology approach and molecular biology to uncover regulatory factors that may assist eIF3 in regulating specific mRNA translation.
Final Report: https://reurl.cc/OVjnjv