About the group

The Valen Group explores how cells decode genetic information and how translation shapes gene regulation, cellular function, and disease. Our research combines molecular biology, genomics, computational biology, and technology development to uncover fundamental principles governing RNA biology, its translation and its regulation.

Translation has primarily been viewed as the process that converts protein-coding genes into proteins. However, recent advances have revealed that translation occurs throughout the transcriptome, including within regions previously considered non-coding. We seek to understand the biological significance of this hidden layer of gene expression: which translated regions produce functional proteins, which regulate RNA fate, and how translation itself acts as a regulatory process independent of its protein products.

To address these questions, we develop both experimental and computational methods. Our laboratory pioneers new approaches for measuring translation, including long-read sequencing technologies, ribosome profiling, CRISPR-based functional genomics, and single-cell approaches. In parallel, we create open-source software and analytical frameworks that enable researchers worldwide to study translation with greater accuracy and resolution.

 

Method development

We are particularly interested in developing novel methods and assays for gaining novel insights and some of our contributions include Ribosome Complex Profiling (RCP-seq) for capturing in the transcriptome-wide distribution of scanning ribosomes and Single-Molecule Structure sequencing (SMS-seq) to obtain single molecule data on RNA structure. On the computational side we have developed ORFik, a framework for studying translation, RiboCrypt, a browser for exploring ribosome profiling data and tailfindr, a package for estimating poly-A tails based on nanopore direct RNA sequencing. Finally, we have developed several tools for CRISPR genome editing like CHOPCHOP, for guide RNA design) and ampliCan for assessing editing outcomes.

 

Funding

We are generously funded by ERC Consolidator Grant, EIC Pathfinder grant, Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen, Novo Nordisk, Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, and FRIPRO and Technological Convergence grants from The Research Council of Norway.

 

Tools

 

News