Dr. Shawn Ahmed, Professor of Genetics and Biology was awarded a new R01 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
His proposal, titled “Small RNAs and telomere biology” aims to study telomere biology in C. brennerei and C. remanei, in an effort to understand why telomeric small RNAs are so abundant in these species, how telomeric small RNAs are created, and what their functions are. Potentially analogous telomeric small RNAs have been observed in ciliates and mammals, and the studies may elucidate their biological relevance.