Scientists Come Together to Discuss RNA Science: The RNA Collaborative Seminar Series

RNA is a leading-edge field of biomedical research that is quickly expanding at many public research and academic institutions in the US and Canada. The complexity of this research requires collaborations between scientists across disciplines and specialties, establishing communities of RNA scientists within each of these institutions. When the COVID pandemic required to postpone all…

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miR-181a, a microRNA that regulates ovarian cancer cells

by Elisabeth Paymal One of the hallmarks of ovarian cancer is genomic instability resulting in gain and loss of DNA throughout the entire genome, including many microRNAs (miRNA). Dr. DiFeo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology and of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Michigan Medicine, and her team, research which miRNAs are involved in the early stages…

Sarah Keane is a 2020 PEW Scholar

Keane is U-M’s 15th scientist to receive this very prestigious award since its inauguration in 1985, and the first one since 2013. “For my lab what this award means is that we can take real chances and pursue these challenging projects that are really difficult in terms of methodology development and other technical challenges that…

Our Members at The RNA Society 25th Annual Meeting

May 27 2:00–4:00 pm, Concurrent Session 2, RNA Structure and Regulation Adrien Chauvier, Pujan Ajmera, Nils Walter, Competition between ligand binding and transcription factor NusA modulates riboswitch-mediated regulation of transcription   8:00–9:00 pm, Poster Session 2, Interconnected Processes Catherine Scull, The N-terminal region of the A12.2 subunit stimulates RNA polymerase I transcription elongation   9:00–10:00 pm, Poster Session 5, RNA…

RNA Collaborative Seminar Series

The RNA Collaborative seminar series goal is to cross promote RNA research and strengthen and connect the RNA scientific community.  More information is available on the RNA Collaborative Seminar Series webpage, supported by The RNA Society. We encourage RNA Centers across the world to join us. If your RNA Center is interested in joining this…

U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine hosts the RNA Collaborative Seminar Series, May 6, 2020

Launched in April 2020, the goal of the RNA Collaborative seminar series is to cross-promote RNA research to strengthen and connect the RNA scientific community. Proposed by the University of Michigan (U-M) Center for RNA Biomedicine, this initiative received great enthusiasm from seven RNA research centers. The group was quickly joined by two more centers…

Two RNA Biomedicine experts are elected to the National Academy of Sciences

The election of professors Janet L. Smith and Arul Chinnaiyan, both members of the Center for RNA Biomedicine Strategic Advisory Board, to the National Academy of Sciences is an outstanding validation of the excellence of the RNA research at the University of Michigan. Members are elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of…

Martina Jerant, Manager of the Center for RNA Biomedicine, receives the University of Michigan Staff Impact Award from among 75 nominees

“Martina Jerant is brimming with energy, big ideas and “outside the box” thinking, which has been instrumental in achieving the Center for RNA Biomedicine’s mission to build bridges across our large campus through a broad range of activities that Martina handles essentially on her own, with little input from us, and all extraordinarily competently,” wrote…

RNA Collaborative Seminars – University of Michigan Hosting

Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 4:00-5:00 Eastern Time Zoom link Hosted by the University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine It’s not the gene, it’s the neighborhood: Effects of large scale chromosomal structure on bacterial transcription Peter Freddolino, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Biological Chemistry and Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics Member of the Center for RNA Biomedicine Executive…

The U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine Executive Committee thanks Aaron Frank for his contributions and welcomes Markos Koutmos

The grassroots Center for RNA Biomedicine at the University of Michigan involves among its opt-in membership RNA scientists from across the Ann Arbor campus, encompassing all seven Schools and Colleges that are engaged in the Biosciences. The Center’s leadership reflects this diversity of viewpoints and serves to facilitate scientific collaboration.

From a rare neurologic disease to a potential antiviral medication against corona virus

By Elisabeth Paymal, Center for RNA Biomedicine As soon as COVID-19 information was released, RNA biologist and child neurologist Dr. Vivian Cheung looked at what was known about this new RNA virus. “What I saw was amazingly surprising: the RNA of the virus encodes a familiar protein, the one that I’ve studied for years in…

RNA Faculty Spotlight – Markos Koutmos, Biophysics and Chemistry

Markos Koutmos, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Biophysics & Chemistry Markos Koutmos joined the Center’s Executive Committee in 2020. The Koutmos lab is interested in understanding how the 3D structure and dynamics of proteins and RNAs drive their biological function. His lab combines chemistry, biophysics and biology approaches to build a foundation of basic knowledge for…

Making patients resilient to COVID-19: Lessons to be learned from kidney single cell analysis

by Dr. Kretzler and his team, and Elisabeth Paymal, U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine The scientific response to the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly evolving. Every day, scientists are making discoveries based on years of investment in training and expertise that resulted in the accumulation of large, shared, high quality data sets now ready to be…

RNA Innovation Seminar Series

The Center for RNA Biomedicine offers bi-weekly RNA Innovation Seminars that feature visiting professors, U of M faculty, and students. The seminars cover a broad array of topics about RNA research and its application. In addition to learning about the latest research in the field, it is an opportunity to meet colleagues, network, and foster…

Welcome Stephanie Moon, Ph.D.

Dr. Stephanie Moon is Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Michigan (U-M) Medical School, and a faculty scholar at the U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine. She joined our RNA community in January 2020, and is the first RNA BSI faculty hire. Dr. Moon brings to Michigan an extensive experience…

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Publication in Nature Neuroscience: Disease-causing Repeats Help Human Neurons Function

Over half of our genomes are made of repeating elements within DNA. In rare cases, these repeats can become unstable and grow in size. These repeat “expansions” cause neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Dementia as well as learning disorders and autism in Fragile X syndrome. Research to date has focused on how these expanded…

RNA Faculty Spotlight – Carlos Andres Aguilar, Biomedical Engineering

  Carlos Andres Aguilar, PhD Assistant Professor Biomedical Engineering College of Engineering The long-term goal of the NOBEL  (nano-omic-bio-engineering-laboratory) is to make breakthroughs in medicine and biology that instill hope and inspire others. To accomplish this feat, we develop, optimize and apply innovative technologies such as integrative genomic assays and high-throughput sequencing, micro/nanofabricated devices, genome…

2019-2020 Seminars

POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: Telomerase Holoenzyme Assembly, Structure, and Action at Telomeres Kathleen Collins (UC Berkeley) Hosted by: Department of  Chemistry   POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: NCI RNA Imaging and Intracellular Dynamics Workshop (flyer) Porter Neuroscience Center, Building 35, Rooms 610/620/630 Website: https://ncifrederick.cancer.gov/events/conferences/NCIRNAWorkshop   VIRTUAL: RNA Center Journal Club April 2, 4pm, BlueJeans link: https://bluejeans.com/2968484075/…

2017-2018 RNA Seminars

2017-2018 RNA Innovation Seminar Series RNA Innovation Seminars (6/18/18) Melani Ohi, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, Research Associate Professor, Life Sciences Institute Using Cryo-EM to study RNA based molecular machines Jacob Kitzman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Human Genetics, Assistant Professor of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics Massively parallel measurement of mutations’ functional effects RNA Innovation Seminars|| Theme: RNA viruses/retroviruses (6/4/18)  Andrew Tai, M.D.,…

2018-2019 RNA Seminars

  4th annual Toronto RNA Enthusiasts Day (TREnD) 7/30/19 (flyer) Keynote speaker: Dr. Tracy Johnson (UCLA) SickKids Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning (686 Bay St, Toronto, Ontario) For more information visit: trendrna.com 2nd Conference on Biomotors, Virus Assembly and Nanobiotechnology 7/29/19  (flyer) Ohio State University, Cleveland OH For more information visit: rnanano.osu.edu/Guo/Biomotor2019/Biomotor2019.html ENCODE 2019: Research Applications and…