Coen van Solingen, PhD

My research interest lies in exploring the role of non-coding RNAs in inflammation and vascular biology. Noncoding RNAs were originally discarded as nonfunctional “junk DNA” encoded in the genome. Over the past decade, however, key functions of noncoding RNA have been unraveled and shown to be important regulators of gene function in health and disease. My graduate research on miRNA-126 demonstrated key roles for this microRNA in controlling angiogenesis and inflammation. In line with my interests in noncoding RNAs and vascular biology, I devoted my postdoctoral training at NYU School of Medicine to further unveil the regulatory roles of microRNAs as well as long noncoding RNAs in lipid metabolism and inflammation.

We are further delving into the world of the noncoding genome and its potential importance to the regulation of biological processes. Ongoing studies focus on identifying functional roles of noncoding RNAs and the exploration of the less-studied transcripts of unknown coding potential (TUCPs). TUCPs are a large group of RNA transcripts that are currently annotated as non-coding RNA, but in fact, may harbor small open reading frames (ORFs) that code for micropeptides with important biological activity. The recent identification and characterization of these TUCPs add another level of unappreciated complexity to the proteome. This “microproteome” not only has the potential to unveil novel regulatory mechanisms that determine fundamental mammalian biology, such as the inflammatory response, but also the discovery of novel therapeutic targets in chronic inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.