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Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 25-Oct-2026 18:16 ET (25-Oct-2026 22:16 GMT/UTC)

DNA repair protein gene gone rogue may unlock new cancer treatments

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An overabundance of a common DNA repair protein can mimic the effects of a mutation in the BRCA gene — a genetic flaw linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer — even in tumors that test negative for it, according to a new study led by Penn State College of Medicine researchers. The finding raises the possibility of more personalized cancer treatment for patients whose tumors don't carry the genetic mutations doctors typically screen for.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Four Diamonds

Researchers develop AI model that maps how genes work together in human cells

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have created a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that helps reveal how genes function together inside human cells, offering a powerful new way to understand biology and disease. The study, published in the May 21 online issue of Patterns, a Cell Press Journal [DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2026.101565], introduces a gene set foundation model (GSFM) designed to learn patterns in how genes are grouped and function across thousands of biological contexts. The work draws inspiration from advances in large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, which learn how words gain meaning depending on their context. In a similar way, a GSFM learns how genes behave differently depending on their cellular “context.”

Journal: Patterns

AI helps create miniprotein switches for drug targets

University of Washington School of Medicine/UW Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

G protein-coupled receptors sit in the plasma membrane, the boundary that defines the inside and outside of a living cell. They communicate with nearly every physiological process in our bodies, from the ability to see and smell, to sensing of adrenaline, insulin, nutrients and medicines. Researchers now report using AI to create tiny, computationally designed proteins to activate or block G protein-coupled receptors. The methods used in their study may form a roadmap for future efforts to create new drug candidates for metabolic, inflammatory, and neurological diseases. These approaches would try to target G protein-coupled receptors that have been largely inaccessible to conventional drug discovery.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Austrian Science Fund Erwin Schrödinger Program, BioInnovation Institute Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Novo Nordisk, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Microsoft, Audacious Project, Nordstrom Barrier Institute for Protein Design Directors Fund, The Open Philanthropy Project Universal Flu Vaccine Fund, The Open Philanthropy Project Improving Protein Design Fund, The Wu Tsai Protein Innovation Fund, Cancer Research UK, Department of the Defense and Defense Threat Reduction Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, U.S. Department of Defense, CureSearch for Children's Cancer, DBT Wellcome Trust India Alliance, ANRF, Department of Biotechnology, Lady Tata Memorial Trust

NIH awards $50 million to UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science

UMass Chan Medical School
Grant and Award Announcement

The UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS) has been awarded a seven-year, $50 million renewal of its Clinical and Translational Sciences Award, along with an associated K12 Scholar program, from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

UMass Chan scientist receives $1.6 million from National Institute of General Medical Sciences to refine gene therapy vectors

UMass Chan Medical School
Grant and Award Announcement

Phillip Tai, PhD, received a $1.6 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to investigate the basic mechanisms of adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV) using high-resolution DNA sequencing technology. These findings could potentially lead to new vector designs that improve the safety of gene therapy treatments.