Balajee Somalinga
Company: CHDI Foundation
Job title: Director - Ribonucleic Acid Biology
Bio:
Balajee Somalinga is a Director at CHDI Management/Foundation managing the RNA biology portfolio, where he has spearheaded the development and implementation of strategic road maps for RNA- and translation-directed targeting of Huntingtin (HTT), a gene associated with Huntington’s disease (HD). His interests at CHDI also include development of robust pharmacodynamic and safety biomarker assays for HD. In his previous role as an Associate Director at Lucerna, he has led several NIH-SBIR projects and was credited with the design and development of innovative tools for RNA research, drug discovery, and biomarker discovery. Prior to that as a Senior Research Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, his work was focused on developing assays and screening for novel drugs and targets in cancer. His earlier work at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center was focused on identifying novel targets involved in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and understanding their mechanisms of action.
Seminars:
Targeting HTT RNA & Translation for Allele-Selective Lowering of Mutant Huntingtin 1:45 pm
• Validating HTT exon1 as a target for allele-selective targeting in HD • Identifying and profiling of allele-preferential HTT RNA binding small molecules • Exploring opportunities for targeting uORF regulatory mechanisms in HTT translationRead more
day: Conference Day Two