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A Ph.D. dissertation is a huge accomplishment, resulting from four, five or more years of intense research and training. To become a Ph.D. is a remarkable challenge both scientifically and intellectually that requires a deep personal and emotional commitment. A doctoral defense is not only the culmination of years of hard work, but it also raises the question of “what’s next for me?” after years on the schooling and training track.

On March 22, 2021, Ahmed Malik defended his Ph.D. thesis in Dr. Barmada’s lab, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan Medical School. For him, the “what’s next?” question finds answers in his passionate quest for knowledge and bioscience exploration. “There is so much to learn in school, and there is nothing else I’d rather be doing,” he said only a few days after defending his Ph.D.

“There is so much to learn in school, and there is nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

Malik is enrolled in the combined M.D.-Ph.D. program of the University of Michigan (U-M), one of the longest trainings offered at the university. When he joined U-M in 2014, he first did two years of classwork in the medical school as part of his M.D. training. Then he focused on the science behind neurodegenerative diseases and did his Ph.D. dissertation on an RNA-binding protein, Matrin-3, that plays a particular role in neurological diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). He is now getting ready to resume his M.D. training, while he is still debating between a specialization in neurology, psychiatry, or another clinical specialty. [Read more…] about Connecting neuronal activity to RNA and bench to bedside

Top left to right: Markos Koutmos, Sara Aton, Chris Lima, and Kevin Weeks; bottom left to right: Feng Zhang, Tracy Johnson and Brenda Bass.

At the panel discussion of our 5th Annual Symposium held March 25–26, 2021, we asked the keynote speakers for advice for trainees and mentors. Brenda Bass from the University of Utah, Tracy Johnson from UCLA, Chris Lima from Sloan Kettering Institute, Kevin Weeks from University of North Carolina, and Feng Zhang from MIT drew from their personal experiences and shared best practices to become successful scientists. The discussion was led by University of Michigan faculty Sara Aton (Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology) and Markos Koutmos (Chemistry and Biophysics), both members of the Center’s Executive Committee.

“Follow your passion” is a well-known recommendation, but it can take different meanings over time as you advance in your career. For example, a certain science might really speak to you and be really exciting, but you might find yourself alone on this path. In such a case, your passion might best be the leader. The advice is to take ownership of your path, and when it is not clear, trust that your passion will make things happen.

Passion is also contagious, and a mentor’s excitement transfers onto the mentees. A good connection between a mentor and a mentee is important in that a mentee needs a role model that they can admire so they accept advice from him or her. There is also a unique relationship between the mentor and each mentee. Each trainee has his/her own way of thinking, and it is the responsibility of the mentor to understand how his/her mentee processes information to best help the mentee. There is no formula across the board but leading by example, and staying empathetic, always applies.

[Read more…] about From our 5th Annual Symposium: Advice to Trainees and Mentors

With over 550 participants, this two-day symposium virtually gathered the vibrant RNA research community from the University of Michigan (U-M), the US, and around the world.

The symposium opened with remarks by Nils Walter, co-director of the U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine, who reminded the attendees of the importance of RNA research for society, as demonstrated by the COVID-19 RNA vaccine. Mats Ljungman, co-director of the U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine, emceed day 2.

Five distinguished keynote speakers presented on various RNA processes: Brenda Bass, Ph.D., University of Utah; Tracy Johnson, Ph.D., UCLA; Christopher Lima, Ph.D., Sloan Kettering Institute; Kevin Weeks, Ph.D., University of North Carolina; and Feng Zhang, Ph.D., MIT.

Six U-M junior and early career scientists presented their research in data blitzes: Adrien Chauvier, Ph.D., Postdoc and Research Assistant; Daniel Peltier, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Lecturer; Meredith Purchal, Graduate Student; Cathy Smith, Graduate Student; Shannon Wright, Graduate Student; and Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor.

The panel discussion also provided many inspiring recommendations to trainees and mentors, from life/work balance and time management, to networking, and sharing scientific passion with one’s community. These will be summarized in the next issue of The RNA Transcript.

The Michigan Science Writers, a student organization dedicated to improving public understanding of science, graciously blogged about the event. READ THE BLOGS

The data blitzes were co-sponsored by Lexogen.
This event was supported by the University of Michigan Biosciences Initiative.

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Thank you all for making this symposium such a success!

Over 1,450 people attended our webinar with Melissa Moore, Chief Scientific Officer at Moderna Therapeutics, on March 3rd, 2021. In her presentation, Dr. Moore explained how the mRNA vaccine works, and how it was developed in record time of just 45 days. To put an end to this pandemic, she strongly encouraged the audience to get vaccinated, with any vaccine available, as soon as possible.

While we were all stunned by the rapid onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the release of a clinically tested mRNA vaccine in less than a year was just as astounding, sounding almost too good to be true. Yet the speed at which this innovative way of making a vaccine became possible was based on years of cutting-edge RNA research that were ready to be taken to the next level.

[Read more…] about How the time was just right for developing a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine

Karen Montoya is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in Nils Walter’s lab (Department of Chemistry, College of LSA) where she is studying state-of-the-art single molecule spectroscopy and imaging.

Montoya’s interests in biosciences were sparked in part by “Osmosis Jones,” an animated action comedy about one white blood cell’s race against the biological clock to hunt down and destroy a lethal new virus. With a plot of an uncanny relevance to today’s pandemic, this 2001 movie made a strong impression on the young Montoya. The movie’s take on physiology inspired her to want to dive into the world of a cell through microscopy studies.

This curiosity in biological sciences further developed when, in high school, she joined a competitive Math, Science and Technology Magnet Program. There, she received the support of her math teacher, Ms. Richter, a woman in STEM who became an important role model for her. Through this program, she developed the strong foundation in math and science that launched her career in STEM.

[Read more…] about A scientist who “shrunk” down to explore a cell

By Elisabeth Paymal

Altogether, over 6,800 rare diseases affect an estimated 25 million to 30 million Americans. These patients who suffer from genetic mutations that often occur within the same family, are still nowadays left with few, if any, therapeutic options. However, RNA on-going discoveries and the development of new technology and tools such as CRISPR offer new hopes for rare disease therapy and prevention.

Studying rare diseases can also lead to remarkable insights into common diseases. For example, the understanding and subsequent treatment for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis have benefited from three rare disease studies. The development of a cholesterol-lowering drug, one of the most frequently prescribed medicines in the developed world and which has saved countless lives, was initiated through the study of familial hypercholesterolemia, a disease that affects one in 300,000 people.[1]

Several members of the University of Michigan (U-M) Center for RNA Biomedicine are studying such diseases. On the occasion of Rare Disease Day, February 28, we asked Anthony Antonellis, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Human Genetics, Medical School, and member of the Center for RNA Biomedicine, about his research and collaborations.

[Read more…] about RNA research brings hope to 30 million patients

Photo: Jalihal describing his research based on live cell single particle tracking.

Growing up in Chennai, in South India, Ameya Jalihal, Ph.D., has always loved going on nature walks, watching birds, and collecting insects and seashells. While observing nature and biodiversity, young Jalihal had many questions that fueled his passion for life sciences. Inspired by his parents, both academics and engineers, Jalihal faced the traditional expectations to become either an engineer or a medical doctor. He first took the engineering path, and developed his mathematical and quantitative thinking that proved very valuable for his graduate studies. With his Ph.D. studies focused on cellular mechanisms, he merged his engineering skills with his deep passion for life sciences.

Following a few months in Christian Ray lab’s at the University of Kansas in Winter 2015, studying bacterial growth and memory, Jalihal applied to graduate programs across the US. The University of Michigan (U-M) offered the widest breadth of opportunities, and this was very appealing to his endless curiosity. There were also numerous possibilities for collaborations in a very collegial environment. “People are really friendly and happy to be here. You want to be in an environment where people are excited about what they do, and U-M definitely has this,” he explains. While in the lab of Nils Walter, a co-director of the U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine, Jalihal found many opportunities to meet and exchange with RNA scientists. To Jalihal, “every person I’ve encountered has been a mentor to me. I’m so grateful for all these exchanges.” He regularly attended the RNA Innovation Seminar series organized by the Center, where he found a community of like-minded RNA enthusiasts.

[Read more…] about “Zooming in to zoom out: learning from molecules to understand life”

More information and required registration are available here.

Dr. Melissa Moore, chief scientific officer at Moderna Therapeutics, will be hosted for a virtual seminar on February 10, 2021, 4:00– 5:00pm EST by the University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine as part of the worldwide RNA Collaborative Seminar Series. The title of her talk is: “A timely confluence: the backstory of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.” This event is free and open to the public.

Under Moore’s scientific leadership, Moderna Therapeutics developed one of the two mRNA-based vaccines authorized for use in the US. According to the CDC website: “mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. To trigger an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Not mRNA vaccines. Instead, they teach our cells how to make a protein—or even just a piece of a protein—that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.”

Researchers have been studying and working with mRNA vaccines for decades, in particular for flu, Zika, rabies, and cytomegalovirus (CMV). Interest has grown in these vaccines because they can be developed in a laboratory using readily available sequence information and biological materials. This means the development process can be quickly standardized and scaled up, making vaccine development faster than traditional methods of making vaccines, as demonstrated with the COVID-19 vaccines.

At Moderna Therapeutics, Moore directs research into novel delivery mechanisms for therapeutic mRNAs and how to bring this technology to the clinic. Her involvement was instrumental for the success of the COVID-19 vaccine.

[Read more…] about Webinar: “A timely confluence: the backstory of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine” by Melissa Moore, February 10, 2021, 4:00– 5:00pm EST

In our September 2020 issue of RNA Translated, 2020 the year of the RNA virus, we presented how University of Michigan (U-M) Center for RNA Biomedicine’s scientists pivoted their research to address the COVID-19 pandemic. One of them is Dr. Chinnaiyan and his team of prostate cancer researchers who focused on two proteins that are involved in giving access to the virus into a host cell. The production of these two proteins is regulated by male hormones. With J. Sexton from the U-M Center for Drug Repurposing, the collaborators looked at repurposing well-known drugs used in prostate cancer to block a receptor for male hormone, and prevent the coronavirus from entering a host cell.

“We hope that these findings may partly explain why males have higher hospitalization and mortality rates than females, and also suggest that transcriptional inhibition of key host factors may have potential in preventing or treating COVID-19. A number of clinical trials in COVID-19 patients have been initiated with drugs that were previously used to treat prostate cancer,” says Dr. Chinnaiyan.

The results from the current study are published in the January 5, 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Referenced article:
Targeting transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2
Yuanyuan Qiao, Xiao-Ming Wang, Rahul Mannan, Sethuramasundaram Pitchiaya, Yuping Zhang, Jesse W. Wotring, Lanbo Xiao, Dan R. Robinson, Yi-Mi Wu, Jean Ching-Yi Tien, Xuhong Cao, Stephanie A. Simko, Ingrid J. Apel, Pushpinder Bawa, Steven Kregel, Sathiya P. Narayanan, Gregory Raskind, Stephanie J. Ellison, Abhijit Parolia, Sylvia Zelenka-Wang, Lisa McMurry, Fengyun Su, Rui Wang, Yunhui Cheng, Andrew D. Delekta, Zejie Mei, Carla D. Pretto, Shaomeng Wang, Rohit Mehra, Jonathan Z. Sexton, and Arul M. Chinnaiyan, PNAS January 5, 2021 118 (1) e2021450118; first published December 11, 2020; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021450118

The 2020 Nobel Prize of Chemistry recognizes Emmanuelle Charpentier, Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany, and Jennifer Doudna, University of California, Berkeley, USA, “for the development of a method for genome editing.”

Every year, the University of Michigan Complex Systems invites U-M faculty to comment about the Nobel Prizes awards. In this recorded lecture (37 min.), “The CRISPR Craze: Scientific Breakthroughs Come to the Prepared when Least Expected,” Nils Walter, Ph.D., Francis S. Collins Professor of Chemistry, Biophysics and Biological Chemistry, co-director of the University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine, presents the history of the CRISPR discovery.

Starting in 1987 in Japan, CRISPR systems have been observed and studied independently and at times simultaneously by several research groups around the globe (Spain, France, The Netherlands, USA, Sweden, Austria, and Germany). This led the foundation for the 2012 breakthrough by Charpentier and Doudna to harness a CRISPR system (Cas-9) to cleave and modify DNA at specific sites. This genetic editing discovery is currently revolutionizing therapeutics and foundational research, while raising essential ethical questions.