RNA Therapeutics Institute at UMass Chan Medical School
The RTI was founded in 2009 and became an academic department in 2016, chaired by Phillip D. Zamore, Ph.D. The RTI is dedicated to leveraging the strong RNA biology and clinical research communities at UMass Chan to develop novel therapies for which RNA is the therapeutic target or modality. The RNA Therapeutics Institute faculty are recognized as scientific trailblazers, and include a Nobel Laureate, a Gairdner Prize recipient, the 2018 RNA Society early and mid-career award recipients, and two Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators.
The RTI comprises a key component of the UMass Chan Advanced Therapeutics Cluster, which also includes the Neurotherapeutics Institute and the Gene Therapy Center. The Neurotherapeutics Institute is co-directed by RTI faculty members Melissa Moore, Ph.D., and Neil Aronin, M.D., along with Robert Brown, M.D., D. Phil., who chairs the Department of Neurology. The RTI’s close affiliation with the Neurotherapeutics Institute and the Gene Therapy Center provides an unparalleled intellectual environment in which to accomplish the common goal of developing novel therapeutics.
The Albert Sherman Center, home to the RNA Therapeutics Institute, is a state-of-the-art research and educational facility. Completed in 2012, the 512,000-square foot facility nearly doubled the research capacity of the Worcester campus. When fully occupied, the Sherman Center will house some 90 principal investigators and their laboratory programs, including more than 700 scientists, graduate students, and support staff. The Albert Sherman Center is primarily devoted to biomedical research, with six floors of research laboratories, core facilities, offices, and conference spaces; the remaining three floors provide designated educational space. Advanced technologies integrated into the structure and operation of the ASC, which earned LEED Gold certification, will improve energy efficiency by 25 percent compared to a similar sized building of standard design, by reducing energy consumption by 4.1 million kilowatt hours and carbon dioxide emissions by 4.5 million pounds annually.
We warmly welcome you to our home of RNA research!