Borchert awarded NSF grant to study role of exRNA in maintaining gut health

Glen Borchert, Ph.D., received an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Glen Borchert, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama, is part of a national collaborative research project examining how we control bacteria in the gut.

Borchert was one of 30 principal investigators invited to a National Science Foundation think tank last summer in Airlie, Virginia. While there, he teamed up with six other investigators with diverse and complementary expertise to study gut bacteria. Each member of the group wrote an independent grant covering one aspect of their hypothesis. The NSF recently funded all seven grants associated with the project for a total of $6.5 million. 

Borchert, whose research was awarded $800,000 over a four-year period, aims to understand the role of extracellular RNA (exRNA) in communication between cells and shaping the community of microbes, especially bacteria, that live on and inside humans. 

These collections of microbes are often referred to as microbiomes and are critical for the health of plants and animals, including humans. A healthy microbiome promotes a healthy immune system, but how healthy microbiomes are maintained is poorly understood. 

“This project will test the hypothesis that RNA secreted by host cells plays a central role in maintaining health by directly regulating genes in the microbiome,” Borchert said. “Understanding how exRNAs shape communication between cells and organisms will enable manipulation of exRNA communication in both agriculture and medicine, potentially leading to new environmentally friendly pesticides, treatments for microbial imbalance in both plants and animals (converting unhealthy microbiomes to healthy ones), and new diagnostic and therapeutic tools for early detection and/or treatment of disease.”