During her PhD studies, Anna Isabelle Vincent investigated the RNA modification N6-methyladenosine (m6A). N6-methyladenosine is one of the most common RNA modifications found in the human transcriptome. It is involved in a wide range of cellular processes, which can often be linked to the development of certain diseases. Relying on NMR spectroscopy, Anna Isabelle Vincent studied how differential m6A patterns could serve as therapeutic targets to degrade pathogenic messenger RNAs selectively.

The research findings contribute to understanding how m6A affects the stability of RNAs and how local variation in structural motifs could help direct small molecules against pathogenic transcripts in Huntington’s disease.

The PhD study was completed at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Wednesday, 28^th of May 2025 at 13:00
Place: TBA
Title of PhD thesis: Probing the Role of N6-Methyladenosine in RNA Structure and Binding: Implications for Huntington’s Disease Therapy.
Contact information: Anna Isabelle Vincent, e-mail: anna.vincent@mbg.au.dk, tel.: +45 50699483
Members of the assessment committee:
Associate Professor Micahel Petersen, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Associate Professor Eleonora Leucci, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Belgium
Associate Professor Christian Kroun Damgaard (chair), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Main supervisor: Associate Professor Ulf Andersson Vang Ørom, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C