Neil Renwick spent his early years working as a medical officer in the Australian outback, Thailand and Papua New Guinea. Today, those formative clinical experiences with rare and unusual diseases are guiding his explorations into the genetic mechanisms of disease, and putting him at the forefront of a rapidly emerging molecular frontier.

A certified pathologist and clinician scientist in the Kingston General Hospital Research Institute, Dr. Renwick studies select cancer and neurodegenerative diseases in which ribonucleic acid (RNA) control is disturbed.

Among many functions, RNA is the intermediate molecule between DNA and protein. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�It has a lot of information that makes a gene into a protein, so it is a good diagnostic and therapeutic target,카지노 게임 컬렉션� he explains. 

Long viewed by researchers as 카지노 게임 컬렉션�information carriers,카지노 게임 컬렉션� RNA regained the spotlight in the early 2000s, following a series of discoveries showing that another class of RNA, named microRNA, plays a key role in controlling messenger RNAs and their protein products.

Dr. Renwick카지노 게임 컬렉션�s own interest in RNA was sparked at The Rockefeller 카지노게임사이트 when he worked with Prof. Tom Tuschl, who discovered many microRNAs and developed silencing RNA technology. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�He figured out how to switch off any gene,카지노 게임 컬렉션� he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�It works brilliantly in cell lines, now we카지노 게임 컬렉션�re trying to figure out ways to use it to cure disease.카지노 게임 컬렉션�

Dr. Renwick카지노 게임 컬렉션�s research involves examining at microRNAs in tissue samples from neuroendocrine tumors. A second project is looking at mutations in genes that encode RNA-binding proteins and result in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  Two different diseases, but they are linked through defective RNA control.

Identifying and studying how RNAs cause or mediate disease is not as straightforward as it sounds. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�The work is technically challenging,카지노 게임 컬렉션� Dr. Renwick says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�It카지노 게임 컬렉션�s hard to work with RNA molecules because they break down easily. You have to know how to handle them.카지노 게임 컬렉션�

His Laboratory of Translational RNA Biology is one of a small cohort of labs in Canada that specialize in this field 카지노 게임 컬렉션� but his lab is the only one using state-of-the-art tests, or assays, for detecting RNAs that he developed while training with Prof. Tuschl. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�We have the most accurate techniques for doing this,카지노 게임 컬렉션� he says.

A key to his work is the capability to capture and analyse the huge volumes of data produced by RNA profiling. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�There will be a big computational component to this work,카지노 게임 컬렉션� he says. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�We are lucky; we have pipelines to analyse the data.카지노 게임 컬렉션�

A recruit to Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션�s and KGH through the Southeastern Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO), Dr. Renwick says his new job fulfils a long-time ambition to have his own lab. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�I was looking all over the planet for an opportunity. The SEAMO Clinician Scientist program is the way everyone should be going. It카지노 게임 컬렉션�s an innovative program.카지노 게임 컬렉션�

The Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션�s-KGH environment is another positive. 카지노 게임 컬렉션�It카지노 게임 컬렉션�s a good opportunity for me to be around other pathologists with extensive experience. And the hospital environment is important because it enables you to see how your work impacts real life. I think Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션�s and KGH are going to be very competitive going forward because they have the experience, and the patient base, and the basic science. All the components are here.카지노 게임 컬렉션�

This story is the ninth in a series on the KGH Research Institute, a collaboration between Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션�s and Kingston General Hospital, and the clinician-scientists recruited to work in the centre.