$7.3M in New Research Grants Mark ‘RNA Day’ at UAlbany
ALBANY, N.Y. (July 27, 2026) — Researchers at UAlbany’s RNA Institute are helping lead $7.3 million in new federally funded grants that will explore the toxic effects of woodsmoke on firefighters and how DNA damage that accumulates over time contributes to cancer and other aging-related diseases.
Williams-Raycheff Endowed Professor of Biology Thomas Begley is the co-principal investigator on both projects funded by the National Institutes of Health. Begley is also the institute’s associate director.
RNA researchers and biotech industry representatives from across New York are gathering at UAlbany Tuesday to discuss the ongoing “RNA revolution” in drug development and biotech, and the institute will observe World RNA Day on Wednesday. The new funding also comes as the University at Albany is planning a $50 million state-funded expansion of its Life Sciences Research Building to support the institute’s cutting-edge research and the biotech workforce development led by Center of Excellence in RNA Research and Therapeutics.
Research for the public good
RNA stands for ribonucleic acid, a key piece of genetic material that — among other jobs —transmits critical information within our cells that can cause disease when that transmission process malfunctions. But it can also be used to treat or correct malfunctioning cell processes. The institute’s work focuses on understanding how and where RNA can be used in precision medicine.
“The RNA Institute’s work is emblematic of the University at Albany’s deep commitment to research that benefits the public good,” said University at Albany President Havidán Rodríguez. “As these researchers break ground in our understanding of RNA and its impacts on health, they are leveraging state and federal research investments to create lasting public benefit in the form of tools and technologies that advance science, medicines that offer families hope, and knowledge that improves health outcomes. This is our obligation as a public research institution and it is one that we are proud to undertake.”
The two new research projects are:
- A $3.9 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to investigate how cells respond to naphthalene, a harmful chemical found in wood smoke — including wildfire smoke — and other combustion products.
- A $3.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study how DNA damage accumulates with age and, when left unchecked, can contribute to cancer and other aging-related diseases.
“Understanding how environmental contaminants like woodsmoke impact the basic biological machinery inside our body is essential to understanding how to prevent and treat disease caused by these exposures,” Begley said. “These projects will advance our understanding of how RNA functions in healthy, diseased and aging cells and how we may be able to use it to design new treatments that help us live longer, healthier lives by keeping occupational and age-related illnesses in check.”
Begley’s collaborators include scientists at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University and the University of Arizona.
“UAlbany’s RNA Institute is helping push the frontiers of RNA science, and these two major projects show how UAlbany researchers are answering fundamental questions about the role of RNA in diseases that affect us all,” said UAlbany Vice President for Research and Economic Development Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas. “Through cutting-edge research, innovative educational programs and much-needed biotech workforce development, the institute continues to be a national leader in RNA research and is helping blaze a path to precision medicine and therapies that will bring comfort to the sick and save lives.”