Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
The Kiss RNA lab currently focuses on two main areas of research. Namely, developing novel RNA Therapeutics to treat and/or prevent human disease and performing experiments to understand fundamental mechanisms concerning the RNA molecular biology of mammalian cells.
RNA Therapeutics:
As we are housed inside the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI), the lab is committed to the translation of basic science discoveries to benefit human health. Shortly after the lab opened, we joined the HMRI’s RNA Therapeutics program and began working on our first therapeutic candidate, an RNA designed to counter genes driving oncogenic transformation and cell migration in certain breast cancers. That work has earned Dr. Kiss a Career Development Award from The American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy. https://www.asgct.org/research/news/october-2019/asgct-career-development-awards
COVID-19 updates:
We are applying our expertise and experience with designing and developing novel RNA therapeutics to the address the urgent need COVID-19 pandemic. Our lab is providing all needed support as HMRI’s RNA Core develops an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.houstonmethodist.org/-/media/pdf/pr/covid/HM-COVID-19-Vaccine-Research-Press-Release-03172020.ashx
The lab has also been developing a novel RNA vaccine for COVID-19. We are still in the development stages and hope to test the vaccine candidates in animals in early 2021.
In addition to providing support for the vaccine effort mentioned above, we are developing three candidate RNAs designed to treat active COVID-19 disease. These RNA therapeutic candidates are designed to slow the course of the infection by interfering with the virus's replication machinery. This work is in its early stages.
RNA molecular biology:
The basic science research interests of the lab lie in the changes that occur in the RNA and molecular biology of cells when cellular stress responses converge to cause or exacerbate cardiovascular disease or cancer. I am building a two-pronged collaborative basic science group that leverages RNA molecular biology tools with both specialized and traditional RNA sequencing approaches combined with long-read sequencing to elucidate how these RNA-mediated changes occur.
Cytoplasmic RNA capping
The lab's work aims to determine the regulators that determine the conditions under which, and position(s) where, an RNA is capped in the cytoplasm. My lab uses both transcriptome-wide (microarrays, direct RNA sequencing, RNA-seq, and ribosome profiling) and targeted methods (qPCR, polysome gradients, etc.) to understand how cytoplasmic capping drives oncogenic transformation and stress responses linked to cardiovascular disease. Ultimately, I aim to uncover the evolutionary role of cytoplasmic RNA capping, and to decipher the mechanism(s) controlling the selection, generation, and regulation of capping sites, and to develop cytoplasmic capping-based drug responsiveness screens and/or RNA therapeutics.
The lab was recently awarded an R35 MIRA (5 years) grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to study the molecular undepinnings of cytoplasmic capping and another grant from the American Heart Association (3 years) to better understand if cytoplasmic capping helps cells respond to stress in the cardiovascular system.
FHIT
The other part of my lab focuses on how the FHIT tumor suppressor modulates the translation of the transcriptome in cancer. My work has shown that expression of the FHIT protein results in translational changes for several known cancer-linked mRNAs. Further, that translational regulation is often driven by the 5’ translation leader sequence of the mRNA. For my future FHIT research, I plan to build upon my published works by expanding ribosome profiling into FHIT negative patient tumor samples and by developing better cell lines where FHIT expression is more tightly regulated.
(updated 12-2-2020)
Education/Academic qualification
Molecular & Cellular Biology, PhD, Case Western Reserve University
Jul 2003 → May 2010
Award Date: May 16 2010
Biology, MS, Cleveland State University
Award Date: Aug 8 2003
Biology, BS, Cleveland State University
Award Date: Mar 20 1998
Research Area Keywords
- Heart & Vascular
- Cancer
- Molecular Medicine
Free-text keywords
- Cytoplasmic capping
- FHIT
- RNA biology
- Ribosome profiling
- stress response
- Cancer research
- Cardiovascular disease
- translational control
- next generation sequencing
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Network
Projects
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CPRIT RNA Therapeutics Core
Cooke, J. P., Chen, K., Godin, B. & Kiss, D. L.
8/31/20 → 8/30/25
Project: State
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Understanding the mechanisms that regulate cytoplasmic capping and defining its contributions to post-transcriptional gene regulation
8/15/20 → 6/30/25
Project: Federal Funding Agencies
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Elucidating the role(s) of cytoplasmic capping in the response to oxidative stress in vascular endothelial cells
7/1/20 → 6/30/23
Project: Non Profit
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Making circular RNAs to block the growth and proliferation of cancers
12/1/19 → 11/30/20
Project: Non Profit
Research output
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From m6A to cap-adjacent m6Am and their effects on mRNAs
Tat, T. & Kiss, D. L., Nov 14 2020, (Accepted/In press) Epitranscriptomics. Barciszewski, J. (ed.). SpringerResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed)
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From m6A to cap-adjacent m6Am and their effects on mRNAs
Tat, T. & Kiss, D. L., Nov 20 2020, (Unpublished) In : preprints.org.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
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mRNA 5′ ends targeted by cytoplasmic recapping cluster at CAGE tags and select transcripts are alternatively spliced
Berger, M. R., Alvarado, R. & Kiss, D. L., Apr 2019, In : FEBS Letters. 593, 7, p. 670-679 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
3 Scopus citations -
Loss of fragile histidine triad (Fhit) protein expression alters the translation of cancer-associated mRNAs
Kiss, D. L., Baez, W. D., Huebner, K., Bundschuh, R. & Schoenberg, D. R., Mar 14 2018, In : BMC Research Notes. 11, 1, 178.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
4 Scopus citations -
Identification of Fhit as a post-transcriptional effector of Thymidine Kinase 1 expression
Kiss, D. L., Waters, C. E., Ouda, I. M., Saldivar, J. C., Karras, J. R., Amin, Z. A., Mahrous, S., Druck, T., Bundschuh, R. A., Schoenberg, D. R. & Huebner, K., Mar 1 2017, In : Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms. 1860, 3, p. 374-382 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
10 Scopus citations
Prizes
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ASGCT Career Development Award
Kiss, Daniel L. (Recipient), Oct 23 2019
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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Cancer Genetics Training Grant (T32) -Award declined-
Kiss, Daniel L. (Recipient), Sep 2012
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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Career Cornerstone Award
Kiss, Daniel L. (Recipient), Oct 29 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Cytoplasmic capping driven gene expression changes during acute oxidative stress
Kiss, Daniel L. (Recipient), Jul 1 2020
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA), NIH-NIGMS
Kiss, Daniel L. (Recipient), Aug 15 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)