Excellence in Research: Molecular and Functional Interactions between the TEAD and AR Transcription Factors

The goal of this project is to uncover how diverse signaling molecules interact within the cell. By employing modern scientific methods, this project offers a hands-on research opportunity for undergraduate students and a robust training platform for graduate and postgraduate researchers, particularly from African American communities traditionally underrepresented in science.

Also, integrating the discoveries from this project into educational programs in classroom settings will not only enrich learning but also foster a more diverse and inclusive research workforce in science and technology.

This project will explore the mechanism of the molecular and functional interplay between the TEA domain (TEAD) transcription factor and androgen receptor (AR) in mammalian cells, which may be crucial for finding how cells grow, move, and survive as well as keep their physiology under constantly changing extracellular stimuli. The aims of this project are (a) to investigate how androgens and cytokines affect the TEAD-AR interactions, (b) to define the molecular basis of TEAD-AR interactions, and (c) to uncover how AR affects the TEAD-dependent gene expression and cellular networks.

This project employs a range of advanced cellular and molecular techniques, including confocal microscopy, high-throughput DNA/RNA sequencing, and bioinformatic data analysis to achieve the aims. The expected outcome of this research is to gain a deep understanding of the crosstalk between TEAD and AR at the molecular level, shedding light on fundamental cellular processes.

This project will reduce disparities in employment in the Nation’s life sciences sectors through training the HBCU undergraduate students in proteomics and bioinformatics.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.