Circadian rhythms and how they guide making proteins
Official title: Mechanisms of Circadian Clock Control of mRNA Translation
Funded at Texas A&m University · NIH-11309269 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This NIH grant looks at how the body’s clock controls protein production, which could affect how drugs work and how cells stay healthy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas A&m University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Station, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2018 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $156,590 |
| NIH project number | 3R35GM126966-09S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11309269 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with cancers or cardiac diseases where circadian rhythms affect disease progression or drug response may benefit from advances in this area.
✕Less likely to help
People without conditions linked to circadian disruption or protein translation pathways may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers at Texas A&M are studying how the circadian clock influences protein production and quality in cells, using yeast-like models to understand the mechanism. They focus on how the clock affects translation steps, including how ribosomes read through stop signals and how tRNA synthetases contribute to accurate protein building. The work could reveal new ways the clock changes protein diversity over the day, which might impact disease processes and treatment timing. The project builds on prior findings about translation control and ribosome composition to test how these clock-driven changes occur in living systems.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could inform timing strategies for therapies and improve understanding of diseases influenced by circadian biology.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work showed clock control of translation initiation and ribosome behavior, with potential for translation into therapies.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas A&m University
College Station, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bell-Pedersen, Deborah — Texas A&m University
- Study coordinator: Bell-Pedersen, Deborah
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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.