Mateo Alejandro Martínez-Roque, Ph.D.

Research

In the Jaffrey lab, I will pursue the development of “glue RNAs” that can be used to guide the degradation of abnormal proteins, which can lead to diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s, disease. Cells contain an elaborate system for recognizing and degrading damaged or abnormal proteins. When that system fails, aberrant proteins often form clumps or aggregates that can kill the cell—a condition that underlies many neurodegenerative disorders. Using an array of cutting-edge techniques in cell and molecular biology and structural modeling and design, I will engineer a new class of RNAs that interact specifically with abnormal proteins, delivering them directly to the cell’s protein degradation machinery. I will begin by designing and optimizing glue RNAs that specifically recognize the aggregated form of a protein involved in ALS, a devastating neurological disorder. My work could generate novel treatment options for conditions such as ALS, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases.