RNA Biology and Therapeutics
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, School of Medicine
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering
Jeffery Coller has made seminal discoveries in the area of messenger RNA stability and translation. Working from ribosomes to patients, he is pushing open this exciting field with the aim of developing novel therapeutics for devastating rare diseases, improving gene therapy manufacturing and efficacy, and exploring novel disease diagnostics.
Coller studies the very essence of life: translation of the genetic code. His work has led to fundamental shifts in the understanding of gene expression by demonstrating that the genetic code is a major determinant of mRNA fate in eukaryotes, including humans. Coller examines the relationship between mRNA translation—a process in which messenger RNA is synthesized into a protein—and mRNA stability, focusing in particular on the pathways underlying mRNA degradation. He investigates what exactly signals the end of mRNA translation and the beginning of mRNA degradation, which is not yet understood but holds great potential for novel therapeutics.
Coller joined Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2020 from Case Western Reserve University.