“The CRISPR Craze: Scientific Breakthroughs Come to the Prepared when Least Expected”

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…

Translating from dissertation to dream job: a nascent RNA career

Only a couple of weeks after defending her Ph.D. thesis in November, Sarah Owen, a graduate student in Chemical Engineering in Dr. Sunitha Nagrath’s lab, landed her dream job. “It all went very fast,” she explained, “I had a seven-hour zoom interview on Thursday, and they offered me the job the following Monday!” In January…

RNA Scientist Spotlight – Robb Welty, Chemistry

  Robb Welty Post-doctoral fellow Chemistry Principal Investigator/Faculty: Nils Walter Google scholar What are your research interests? Academically speaking, my scientific interests lie at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and biology. I suppose that I just enjoy figuring out how systems work. It turns out that physics provides an awesome framework for figuring things out,…

The RNA Collaborative welcomes its 17th and 18th partners

The RNA Collaborative Seminar Series is pleased to welcome its 17th and 18th partners, the Cambridge RNA Club (UK) and the Groupe de Recherche RNA (GDR RNA – France). The Cambridge RNA Club is an informal seminar series bringing together the RNA community in Cambridge and surrounding areas. The GDR RNA aims to bring together French…

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How mRNA helped scientists create a COVID-19 vaccine in record time

A Washington Post video (duration 6’16”) – December 8, 2020 How mRNA helped scientists create a COVID-19 vaccine in record time Our RNA scientists, Alice Telesnitsky, Microbiology and Immunology, and Nils G. Walter, Chemistry, Biophysics & Biological Chemistry and co-director of the Center for RNA Biomedicine, explain how RNA research allows to save millions of…

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A portion of noncoding RNA may play an essential role in protecting the integrity of the genome

“Over the years, studies have found that more than 80% of the genome may be involved in transcription, or producing noncoding RNA,” said Andrzej Wierzbicki, a professor in the University of Michigan Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. “So the dilemma was: Is all this noncoding RNA functional? Is it important for something? Or…

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Machine learning expands single-molecule analysis accuracy and accessibility

The observation of single biomolecules in real-time is crucial for our understanding of the cellular biology that is assembled from these molecules, be they DNA, RNA or protein. The recent development of an array of tools and techniques for single-molecule analysis allows studies at an extremely small scale (nanometers, or 10-9 meters) over short periods…

Sara Aton and Laura Scott join our Executive Committee

The Center’s Executive Committee welcomes two new members, Sara Aton, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, College of LSA (left), and Laura Scott, Ph.D., Research Professor, Biostatistics, School of Public Health (right). Read Sara Aton “Featured scientist” profile. We thank again our Executive Committee former members for their important contributions to the Center’s…

2021 Symposium

Our 5th Annual Symposium will take place Thursday and Friday, March 25th and 26th, 2021, 11:00–2:30 EST. VIRTUAL and NOT RECORDED, free and open to all – registration required.   RNA research shapes revolutionary scientific paths, from fundamental science discoveries in the labs to powerful biomedical applications for patients. The rapid rise of RNA-guided genome…

Rare disease collaboration receives NIH funding for a new Center for Fragile X disease

An interview with Peter Todd, M.D, Ph.D., Neurology, Medical School, University of Michigan (U-M), and member of the Executive Committee of the U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine Dr. Todd will serve as co-director of a Fragile X Center without walls with investigators at U-M, Baylor College of Medicine, and Emory University. This Fragile X Center…

CRISPR in the Nobel spotlight – UM researchers aim to improve CRISPR and use it to target cancer

Once again, the Nobel Prize recognizes the most revolutionary and innovative scientific discoveries that have the highest potential to transform humankind. Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, both biochemists, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 “for the development of a method for genome editing,” known as CRISPR. This RNA-guided tool allows to change…

RNA Translated, our magazine and brief report, is out!

RNA Translated’s main focus is on “2020, the year of the RNA viruses,” with representative contributions from 10 RNA faculty members. We also feature our two Research Cores and broadly report on the Center’s activity with a few highlights. With this publication, we aim to showcase the outstanding achievements and deep impact of the scientific collaborations…

Thank you to our postdocs!

On the occasion of the National Postdoc Appreciation Week, September 21st–25th, the University of Michigan (U-M) Center for RNA Biomedicine’s community warmly thanks UM’s postdocs for their tremendous contributions to the field of RNA research and to the life of our scientific community. According to the U-M Postdoctoral Association (UMPDA), an estimated 1,400 to 1,600…

From the Center’s co-directors, Fall 2020

Dear Colleagues, While the COVID-19 pandemic has been causing major disruptions as well as many inconveniences, it also offers some new opportunities; perhaps now is the most opportune time to make new interpersonal connections, start new scientific collaborations, and broaden one’s horizons by learning from others. Through our activities below, we aim to support the…

Our members’ promotions:

Four Associate Professors and one Professor! The Board of Regents of May 21st, 2020, approved recommendations for new appointments and promotions for regular associate and full professor ranks of the University of Michigan. The following Center for RNA Biomedicine’s members were further appointed:   Sami J. Barmada, associate professor of neurology, with tenure, Medical School…

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“Kinetic fingerprinting” of single protein molecules to find the biomarker needle in the haystack

  A cross-disciplinary team of scientists from the University of Michigan (U-M) has developed a biochemical technique that successfully measures the number of individual protein molecules present in blood at low concentrations. These findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), September 2020. The scientists developed special antibody probes that…

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Stressed cellular proteins break social distancing rules

By Elisabeth Paymal A team of scientists associated with the University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine discovered unexpected cellular adaptation mechanisms in response to dehydration. The observed protein reaction has never been reported before. The research began while observing processing bodies (P-Bodies), which are membrane-less organelles (MLO) involved in RNA degradation in human cells….

S. Moon and N. Walter receive the CZI Collaborative Pairs Pilot Project Award

ANN ARBOR, MI, AUGUST 19, 2020—”A pair” of scientists from the University of Michigan (U-M) Center for RNA Biomedicine receives the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Collaborative Pairs Pilot Project Awards. The U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine brought together two scientists for this highly competitive grant: principal investigator Stephanie Moon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Human Genetics,…