News

Support what you 💛 about the Center for RNA Biomedicine! CENTER FOR RNA BIOMEDICINE – GIFT ACCOUNT – 330716 At the University of Michigan, the Center for RNA Biomedicine stands at the forefront of scientific discovery, transforming how we understand and treat diseases at the genetic level. Our mission is simple yet profound: to harness…

Tommy Wang, Dean, University of Michigan School of Medicine, kicked off the 10th Annual RNA Symposium on Friday, March 6, 2026 at Kahn Auditorium in the Biomedical Science Research Building (BSRB). Dr. Wang welcomed faculty, students and researchers from the University of Michigan and peer institutions and partners throughout the globe – experts gathered in…

Giving Tuesday | December 2 Every year on Giving Tuesday, millions of people around the world join together to support causes and organizations that are making a difference. At the University of Michigan, impactful projects across all three campuses and Michigan Medicine are funded each year thanks to the generosity of the U-M community on the…

Thanks for joining us for the Film Screening and Panel Discussion event on Thursday, October 23, 2025 at the Michigan Theater! The evening drew a diverse audience of U-M students, faculty and staff, center supporters, members of the local community and family and friends of the filmmakers. The screening of the new documentary Cracking the…

A new study from the University of Michigan’s Stephanie Moon Lab, with first-author Genetics and Genomics Ph.D. candidate Noah Helton, offers fresh insights into how cells manage molecular crises.  Helton, the first graduate student to join the lab, worked closely with Principal Investigator Stephanie Moon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Human Genetics and Center for RNA…

Pictured above: Somaye Badieyan, Ph.D., Assistant Research Scientist, Cianfrocco Lab, Life Sciences Institute.Photo by Leisa Thompson Photography, provided by the U-M Life Sciences Institute. Center for RNA Biomedicine affiliate faculty Michael Cianfrocco, Ph.D., found that HIV is a much more cunning hijacker than previously theorized. In a new study, Lead Principal Investigator Dr. Michael Cianfrocco…

Michele Santillan, U-M Biomedical Engineering (BME), reports on a recent campus visit by representatives from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) in her article Building Community Around Cystic Fibrosis Research at U-M. The CFF contingent dropped in to check on the progress being made toward establishing a CF Basic Research Center at the University of Michigan….

Update 5.8.25 The LUMICKS C-Trap® optical tweezers microscopy instrument is now up and running at the SMART Center Installation of the LUMICKS C-Trap® is now complete at the SMART Center, a CRB core facility. The instrument allows researchers to measure or exert extraordinarily small forces combined with simultaneous multicolor fluorescence imaging. The system boasts up to…

Congratulations to Adrien Chauvier, Ph.D., one of 12 staff members from across the University of Michigan recognized by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) for their outstanding service and leadership in advancing research, scholarship and creative practice. Known collectively as The Research Staff Recognition Awards, Chauvier was honored with the Research Associate/Assistant/Technician…

RNA Collaborative Seminar, Wednesday, April 9 at 4:00 PM ET on Zoom | Click here to see full details on event calendar. Video recording. UPDATE: 4.10.25 There was a fantastic Collaborative Seminar yesterday with talks by Grace McIntyre, Ph.D. Candidate, Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology, and Adrien Chauvier, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Nils Walter Lab University…

Giving Tuesday | December 3 Every year on Giving Tuesday, millions of people around the world join together to support causes and organizations that are making a difference. At the University of Michigan, impactful projects across all three campuses and Michigan Medicine are funded each year thanks to the generosity of the U-M community on the…

On Monday, October 28, an open house event was held at the University of Michigan North Campus Research Complex to introduce the new Cystic Fibrosis Research Center at U-M (press release here), which was recently funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) via a $500K Program Development Award. Alexandra Piotrowski-Daspit, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical…

Author | Paul Avedisian It would seem that the Nobel Foundation has RNA firmly on its radar, or is that “R-N-A-dar?”  In 2023, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their groundbreaking work mitigating the inflammatory response to mRNA, paving the way for rapid development of…

September 25, 2024 ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In a remarkable display of bench to bedside science, a therapeutic developed by U-M’s Michelle Hastings, Ph.D., is now being used to treat twin girls with a rare form of juvenile Batten disease. Hastings, who is the Pfizer Upjohn Research Professor of Pharmacology, Director of RNA Therapeutics at…

By Paul Avedisian We are thrilled to announce that five faculty members of the Center for RNA Biomedicine have been honored as Rogel Scholars by the Rogel Cancer Center at the University of Michigan. The Rogel Scholars awards program provides support for exceptional faculty dedicated to achieving impact through novel breakthroughs in cancer research – a select…

BY PAUL AVEDISIAN and MICHELE SANTILLAN A team of U-M researchers has been awarded a $500,000 grant by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). Alexandra Piotrowski-Daspit, Ph.D., the PI, is a faculty member at the Center for RNA Biomedicine, and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Internal Medicine – Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division. Lindsay…

John Prensner, M.D., Ph.D., has received a Clinical Investigator Award from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation for his proposal: “Therapeutic opportunities and mechanistic insights of protein-RNA dyssynchrony in medulloblastoma.” The award supports outstanding early-career physician-scientists whose disease-oriented research has the potential to directly impact patients. Prensner was recognized as a leading pediatric cancer researcher…