HHMI Researchers Develop Rainbow mRNA Platform to Study Cellular Structure and Function
By
American Physiological Society
Summary
Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz and her team at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus have developed a new platform using synthetic mRNA technology to study cellular structure and function. Presented at the 2026 American Physiological Summit, the platform—called "Rainbow mRNAs"—enables researchers to label and track multiple proteins simultaneously within living cells, revealing dynamic cellular processes in unprecedented detail. This represents a significant advancement beyond the mRNA vaccine technology developed six years earlier, applying synthetic mRNA to fundamental cell biology research.
Source
bskyHHMI Researchers Develop Rainbow mRNA Platform to Study Cellular Structure and Functionispyphysiology.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledSix years after the revolutionary development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, 4D cellular physiologist Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, PhD, FAAAS, and her research team took synthetic mRNA technology to the next level.
In her recent keynote talk at the 2026 American Physiological Summit in Minneapolis, Lippincott-Schwartz's group—led by Heejun Choi, PhD—at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus introduced a platform to design, produce and use synthetic mRNA to study how cells are structured and work.
They called this platform
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