# The Center for HIV RNA Studies (CRNA)

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $4,998,988

## Abstract

Overall Component: the CRNA
Summary
This renewal application for the Center for HIV-1 RNA Studies (CRNA) focuses on determining the structural
and mechanistic bases of HIV-1 RNA-dependent replication functions at the cellular, viral and atomic levels.
Although considerable progress has been made over the past 30 years in understanding how proteins function
in HIV-1 replication, comparatively little is known about how HIV-1 RNA structures, dynamics, trafficking, and
interactions with proteins enable virus replication. The general paucity of high-resolution structural information
for RNA and protein-RNA complexes reflects inherent challenges to using RNA as a subject for structural
analysis and the inadequacy of traditional biophysical approaches to address these challenges. HIV-1 RNA is
exceptionally rich in biologic functions, and progress in the CRNA’s first four years has begun to unlock
structural and dynamic features of RNA elements in HIV-1 through the use of cutting edge technologies and
incisive biologic approaches. The CRNA consists of a multidisciplinary team of structural biologists, chemists,
cell and computational biologists, biochemists and virologists, many of whom are leaders in the study of HIV-1
RNA and the roles of its structures in virus replication. They have developed and will further advance new
approaches to overcome current technological obstacles, enabling mechanistic determination of the role of
HIV-1 RNA structures and associated proteins in viral transcription, splicing, translation, packaging, particle
assembly, and interactions with host factors. These studies will enable the CRNA to advance goals of clinical
relevance, including the development of novel classes of antiviral compounds, design of new strategies for the
reactivation of latent proviruses, and the augmentation of host defenses against HIV infection. These studies
will also result in the development of powerful new techniques that can be applied to all areas of RNA biology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9993232
- **Project number:** 5U54AI150470-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** ALICE TELESNITSKY
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $4,998,988
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-09-17 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9993232

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9993232, The Center for HIV RNA Studies (CRNA) (5U54AI150470-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9993232. Licensed CC0.

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