Tom Cooper Lab

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About the Lab

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Research at The Cooper Lab.
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The realization that most human genes generate multiple mRNAs encoding divergent protein isoforms via alternative splicing and polyadenylation has revealed extensive regulation that remains to be explored.

Alternative pathways of RNA processing are regulated in response to signaling cues often coordinating expression of gene networks in response to physiological change including in development and disease.

We are interested in understanding the mechanisms and consequences of this regulation, from how RNA binding proteins and signaling pathways coordinate RNA processing networks to the functional consequences of the different protein isoforms that are expressed in different cell states.

We also investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of myotonic dystrophy, type 1 (DM1), an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorder affecting multiple tissues including muscle, heart and the central nervous system. The pathogenic mechanism is disruption of developmentally regulated RNA processing, primarily alternative splicing, in which failure to express adult splicing patterns causes primary features of the disease.

The understanding of the molecular mechanisms of DM1 pathogenesis has led to development of several therapeutic approaches some of which are being testing using mouse models established in the lab.

These investigations utilize a combination of cell culture and genetic models including transgenic and knock out mouse lines for RNA binding proteins, CRISPR-derived mouse lines in which specific alternative exons are removed, and DM1 mouse models.

The overlapping areas of investigation in the lab lead to synergistic and collaborative interactions in which knowledge gained in one area fosters progress in the others.

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Cooper Lab News

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Andrew received the BioSciences Award for Outstanding Research voted by the faculty of the Department of BioSciences at Rice University. May 2024.

Janel won best oral presentation for basic research at the biannual International Myotonic Dystrophy Consortium Meeting in Nijmegen, Netherlands April 2024.

Larissa’s perspective of a paper from the John Lueck lab was published in J. Clinical Investigation

Lathan’s review of microtubules in skeletal muscle development and homeostasis published in Int J Mol Sci. 2023 10.3390/ijms24032903

Larissa was awarded a three year NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship award to start January 2024

Sara’s abstract was selected for an oral presentation at the 2023 Eukaryotic mRNA Processing meeting

Janel’s abstract was selected for an oral presentation at the 2023 Annual Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation (MDF) Conference

Larissa won first place for her poster at the 2023 CAG Triplet Repeat Disorders Gordon Research Conference

Larissa was given an award for the best talk from a postdoctoral fellow at the 2023 annual Pathology & Immunology Trainee Symposium

Matt Penna’s paper on Limch1 alternative splicing function in skeletal muscle development was published in Life Sciences Alliance

Janel Peterson was the winner of the 2023 Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence Family Achievement Award in Genetics for the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics as a PhD student in the Genetics & Genomic Program

Rong-Chi Hu was awarded a predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association starting Jan. 1, 2023

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Reagents

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The following plasmids are available through Addgene.

FRE5 (FLAGNLSREDGFP5)
FRE5Cf (FLAGNLSREDGFP5Claf)
RG6
RHCglo
RTB300
R300TA
DT960
DT480
DT240
DT40
DT12A
DT0
pBItetDT960GFP
pBItetDT12nGFP
FLYLQ (Flag-CELF1)
pBItetDMPKSGFP
pBItetDT240GFP
pBItetDT480GFP
FlagETR3 (CELF2)
FlagMBNL1-41
FlagMBNL3