The Hargrove lab harnesses the unique properties of small organic molecules to study the structure, function and therapeutic potential of disease-relevant RNAs, including viral RNA and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs).

The discovery of lncRNAs in particular caused a paradigm shift in molecular biology and speculation as to their role as the master drivers of diseases such as cancer. At the same time very little is known about their structure and function, leading some to call the field a veritable “Wild West.”

Small molecules are the perfect tools for such exploration, and the Hargrove lab works at the interface of chemistry and biology, employing methods ranging from RNA-targeted small molecule synthesis and array-based pattern recognition to studies of the molecular and cellular biology of nucleic acids.

Collaborations with colleagues in a range of fields ensure that these tools are applied to the most important unsolved problems in the fundamental biology and disease-related actions of RNA.

Recent Collaborations

Armstrong / Somarelli Lab, Duke University School of Medicine (USA)
Brewer Lab, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School / Rutgers University (USA)
Brown Lab, University of Notre Dame (USA)
Dimitrova Lab, Yale University (USA)
Gamarnik Lab, Leloir Institute (Argentina)
Fitzgerald Lab, Duke University (USA)
Kutluay Lab, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis (USA)
Mouzakis Lab, Loyola Marymount University (USA)
Prosser Lab, University of Toronto Mississauga (Canada)
Tolbert Lab, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (USA)

Funding

Current
Canadian Research Chairs
University of Toronto Mississauga
National Cancer Institute (NIH, USA)
Center for HIV RNA Studies (NIAID / NIH, USA)

Past Funding
National Institute of General Medicine Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award (MIRA)
Research Corporation for Science Advancement COVID Initiative Award
National Science Foundation CAREER Award
US Department of Defense CDMRP Prostate Cancer Research Program
Research Corporation for Science Advancement Cottrell Scholar Award
Movember Foundation-Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award
Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship
Prostate Cancer Foundation (Young Investigator Award)
Ralph A. Powe Award (ORAU)
Duke University