RNA Therapeutics Institute

 

Latest News 

JUNE 2009 RNA Leadership Announced

Chancellor Michael Collins and Dean Terrence Flotte announced the leadership plan for the RNA Therapeutics Institute (RTI) – a key component of our Advanced Therapeutics Cluster. An executive group has been formed to govern the new institute. This group will work as a team to recruit new faculty and design the new home for RNA Therapeutics within the Albert Sherman Center.

The executive group will be led by Nobel Laureate Craig C. Mello, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine and professor of molecular medicine and cell biology. The three other directors will be Melissa J. Moore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology; Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Gretchen Stone Cook Chair in Biomedical Sciences and professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology; and Victor Ambros, PhD, Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences and professor of molecular medicine.

Mission Statement

RNA both creates and regulates the complex patterns of gene expression that make plant and animal life possible. The alternative splicing of mRNAs dramatically increases the coding potential of the genome and is now thought to be the main source of the protein diversity in humans. RNAs—both long and short—sculpt the expression of these proteins by regulating transcription, splicing, mRNA stability, and protein translation. Understanding the central role of RNA in creating complex and robust patterns of gene expression is therefore one of the key challenges for molecular biology in the twenty-first century. From long non-coding riboregulators to small RNAs, ribosomes to riboswitches, RNA regulators are remarkable not only for the biological importance but also for their potential to be targets for drugs—or even drugs themselves—to treat human disease.

The RNA Therapeutics Institute (RTI) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School seeks to build a community of scientists passionate about RNA. By uniting researchers studying the fundamental biology and mechanisms of cellular RNAs with those working to devise human therapies using or targeting nucleic acids, the RTI represents a new model for scientific exploration. By interweaving basic and applied nucleic acid scientists with clinicians dedicated to finding new cures, our goal is to create a new paradigm for organizing molecular research that enables the rapid application of new biological discoveries to solutions for unmet challenges in human health.