EMBL Australia group leader Professor Chen Davidovich has been awarded a $4m grant to establish an RNA mass spectrometry platform, advancing the local development of RNA therapeutics and enabling earlier detection of diseases, including cancer.
The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) National Critical Research Infrastructure funding will allow Prof Davidovich – hosted at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute – and a team of 15 Chief Investigators, including current and alumni EMBL Australia group leaders, to develop a suite of analytical services for the Australian RNA therapeutics sector to enable essential quality measures of mRNA under their development and to characterise other types of RNA.
In recent years, mRNA vaccines have transformed the way we fight infectious disease such as COVID-19. Now, RNA therapeutics are showing significant promise in treating a wide range of conditions, including cancer, infectious diseases, auto-immune and metabolic diseases.
Mass spectrometry is a group of methods that detects a wide range of molecules and their chemical modifications, including RNA modifications – chemical groups added to RNA that are essential for enhancing the stability and activity of RNA therapeutics. However, Australia’s limited RNA mass spectrometry services leaves many biomedical teams unable to assess essential quality measures of RNA therapeutics under their development.
Prof Davidovich said the surge in RNA therapeutic development and investment since the COVID-19 pandemic has created a demand for domestic services for RNA mass spectrometry.
“Right now, if you really want to find a place that provides a full package of analytical services for people developing RNA therapeutics and studying RNA, you will most likely need to collaborate with someone outside of Australia,” Prof Davidovich said.
The new RNA mass spectrometry platform will accelerate the on-shore development of mRNA-based vaccines and other emerging RNA technologies, such as miRNA, siRNA, ASO, tRNA and CRISPR RNA.
Prof Davidovich said the platform will enable quality assurance and biomarker detection services, benefiting both Australian researchers and the general public by facilitating access to new RNA therapeutics and early disease biomarkers.
The 15 Chief Investigators on the project come from six Australian universities and research institutes and two hospitals. They include three other members of EMBL Australia’s leadership team and alumni: Professor David Lynn, Scientific Director of the South Australian Genomics Centre; Dr Qi Zhang, a group leader at the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute; and Professor John Carroll, Director of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute.
The MRFF National Critical Research Infrastructure initiative aims to fund research infrastructure of critical importance, supporting world-class health and medical research in areas with unmet medical needs.
Another funded project led by Monash University will establish Australia’s first National Centre for Biopharmaceutical Optimisation of mRNA Therapeutics (CORTx) to optimise mRNA therapeutic candidates and advance them toward clinical trials.
Read more here about this round of MRFF grants.