Developing small molecules to dissect the function and mechanism of m6Am methylation

RNA are widely modified and the modifications have a range of effects. One such modification found in animals is the m6A modification. It is found in wide variety of different types of RNA & is the most common modification in messenger RNA.

While the modification has been known about for 30-years, modern methods have only just identified the enzymes that create it. I aim to study a couple of these newly discovered enzymes. We will look into their enzymology making use of the existing x-ray structures. We hope to develop small molecule inhibitors for the enzymes.

I hope to apply these inhibitors & the enzymology to cell assays. We might then better understand why the m6A modification is made and what effect it has.