How common cold, polio, and related viruses start making proteins
Official title: IRES-mediated initiation of picornavirus translation
Funded at Suny Downstate Medical Center · NIH-11231707 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are looking at the viral 'start signal' in rhinovirus, poliovirus and related viruses that lets them hijack cell machinery to make viral proteins, with the aim of helping people affected by those infections.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Suny Downstate Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Brooklyn, United States) |
| Project start | November 14, 2024 |
| Project end | October 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $203,750 |
| NIH project number | 5R21AI188505-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11231707 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This appears to be laboratory research without patient enrollment, so there are no patient candidates for participation.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate clinical treatments or therapies are unlikely to benefit directly from this basic science project in the short term.
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, scientists will examine a special RNA region called the IRES that some viruses use to begin making their proteins without the cell's usual cues. They will use biochemical binding tests, mutation mapping of the viral 5' untranslated region, and cell-based assays to see how viral RNA interacts with host proteins like eIF4G, PCBP2, and GARS. The team will probe which RNA domains are needed to recruit ribosomes and which host factors are essential for that process. This is lab-based molecular research focused on understanding how these human viruses start infections at the molecular level.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could reveal new molecular targets for antiviral drugs that block how these viruses make their proteins.
How similar studies have gone: Prior laboratory studies have identified some host factors (like eIF4G and PCBP2) involved in IRES function, but the complete mechanism for Type 1 picornavirus IRES-driven initiation remains unclear and this work builds on those findings.
Where this research is happening
-
Suny Downstate Medical Center
Brooklyn, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hellen, Christopher Ulrich Tristram — Suny Downstate Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Hellen, Christopher Ulrich Tristram
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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.