A new software tool for analyzing nascent RNA data to study cancer biology
Official title: A unified probabilistic model and software implementation for analysis of nascent RNA sequencing data
Funded at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · NIH-11391201 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new probabilistic software framework will help scientists study how cancer-related genes start and grow by analyzing nascent RNA sequencing data.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cold Spring Harbor, United States) |
| Project start | September 16, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $571,672 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HG012944-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11391201 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Not applicable to a specific patient population in this grant; the research is computational and methodological, but findings could ultimately inform cancer biology relevant to patients.
✕Less likely to help
Direct patient benefit is not the focus of this grant, as it centers on software and statistical methods.
What this research studies
If you have cancer or care about its biology, this project aims to build a flexible modeling framework to interpret nascent RNA sequencing data, capturing how transcription starts, proceeds, and pauses. The team will create statistical tests and machine‑learning methods to compare transcriptional behavior across conditions, and a unified model that links transcription processes to sequencing read counts. The work combines theory, software development, and data analysis to enable researchers to better understand gene regulation in cancer. This could lead to more accurate insights from transcription data and improved tools for cancer research labs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could provide researchers with powerful, user-friendly software to uncover transcriptional dynamics in cancer, aiding the discovery of new therapeutic targets.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work in nascent RNA sequencing and modeling has shown that sophisticated analyses can reveal new regulatory insights, though this unified framework is novel in integration and scope.
Where this research is happening
-
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cold Spring Harbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Siepel, Adam Charles — Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Study coordinator: Siepel, Adam Charles
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.