RNA Collaborative Seminar Series

The RNA Collaborative seminar series goal is to cross promote RNA research and strengthen and connect the RNA scientific community. These seminars are organized by the RNA Centers of the following institutions: Current RNA Collaborative participating centers include: Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI), Cambridge RNA Club, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Groupe de Recherche RNA, Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research, Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), MD Anderson Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, NCI RNA Biology Initiative, NUS-CSI Singapore RNA Biology Center, Penn RNA Group - University of Pennsylvania, RiboClub Sherbrooke, RNA MaxiGroup, University of Wisconsin-Madison, RNA Research Centre in Poznan, Shanghai RNA Club, The Bay Area RNA Club (BARC), The RNA Institute, University At Albany, UCSC Center for Molecular Biology of RNA, USTC RNA Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine, University of North Carolina RNA Research Group, University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology, and Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine

We encourage RNA Centers across the world to join us. If your RNA Center is interested in joining this collaborative, please contact Martina Jerant at mjerant@umich.edu

Seminars are held virtually every other Wednesday, at either 9:00 am ET (1:00 pm GMT) or 4:00 pm ET (8:00 pm GMT) depending on the host institution and are recorded and made freely available for viewing on the RNA Collaborative YouTube Channel. Seminars are open for viewing by all interested researchers, but prior registration is required to access the streaming content.

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Upcoming Seminars

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Previous Seminars

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Nov 16, 2022, 4 PM ET  The RNA Institute, University At Albany
Paolo Forni, "Single cell transcriptome of the vomeronasal organ of mice, new findings, new questions"
Kaalak Reddy, "Functional consequences of disease-associated inosine misincorporation into RNA"
Moderator: Melinda Larsen

Nov 2, 2022, 4 PM ET  Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine
Ryan Flynn, "glycoRNAs: bridging the gap between glycobiology and RNA biology"
Sylvie Rouskin, "Viral RNA structures as regulators of gene expression and therapeutic targets"
Moderator: Frank Slack

Oct 19, 2022, 10 AM ET  Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI)
Redmond Smyth, "Probing the structure and function of viral RNAs"
Bhupesh Prusty, "Regulation of miRNA processing by other miRNAs through sequence specific RNA:RNA interactions"
Moderator: Neva Caliskan  

Oct 5, 2022, 10 AM ET  NUS-CSI Singapore RNA Biology Center
Daniel G. Tenen, “Weird nuclear noncoding RNAs regulating DNA methylation, mRNA transcription, and DNA replication”
Yue WAN, "Mapping RNA structures in single cells"
Moderator: Polly Chen

Sep 21, 2022, 4 PM ET  NCI RNA Biology Initiative
Pedro Batista, Ph.D., “Re-wiring of RNA methylation by oncometabolites in kidney cancer”
Joana Vidigal, Ph.D., "AGO2 unchained: in vivo roles in the miRNA pathway and beyond"
Moderator: Sandra Wolin, MD, PhD

Sep 7, 2022, 4 PM ET  UMass Chan Medical School, RNA Therapeutics Institute
Ildar Gainetdinov, Ph.D., “Why do animals need two Argonaute families with different catalytic properties?”
Karina Jouravleva, Ph.D., "Structural basis for accurate and efficient microRNA biogenesis by Dicer"
Moderator: Wenwen Fang, PhD

Aug 24, 2022, 4 PM ET  RNA Collaborative Lighniting Talk presentations with live Q&A
 "ZAPping out the virus"
Anuja Kibe, Helmholtz Institute of RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI)
"How to use Cytoplasmic Stress Granules to Better Treat Cancer"
Gabriel Faber, Bar Ilan University
"Blocking the evolutionary escape of viruses"
Fabian Rohden, University of Manitoba

Aug 10, 2022, 4 PM ET  RiboClub Sherbrooke
Michelle Scott, “From ribosome biogenesis to gene expression regulation: small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) target a wide transcriptome”
Peter Unrau, "RNA Mango aptamer tools: RNA imaging, sensors and RNA-protein complex pulldowns"

Jul 27, 2022, 4 PM ET  MD Anderson Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs
Elaine Stur, “Spatially resolved transcriptomics of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma”
Menlanie Winkle, "Anti-miR-93-5p therapy prolongs sepsis survival by restoring the peripheral immune response"

Jul 13, 2022, 10 AM ET  Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB)
Julian Koenig, “FUBP1 is a new core component of 3' splice site recognition that facilitates the splicing of long introns”
Kathi Zarnack, "High-throughput mutagenesis identifies mutations and RNA-binding proteins controlling CD19 splicing and CART-19 therapy resistance"
Moderator: Stefanie Ebersberger

Jun 29, 2022, 10 AM ET  Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)
Roberto Giambruno, “RNA-host protein interaction analyses reveal additional proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 RNA biology”
Caterina Gasperini, "Dissecting the role of Piwil2 (Mili) in neural stem cell fate"

Jun 15, 2022, 10 AM ET  Shanghai RNA Club
Rujuan Liu, “Catalyzing tRNA, mRNA or others? The multifaceted role of tRNA modifying enzymes”
Hui Yang, "Structural insights into substrate targeting and inhibition of CRISPR-Cas systems"
Moderator: Paul Lin

Jun 1, 2022, 4 PM ET  University of North Carolina RNA Research Group
Christine Roden, “SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein-RNA interactions encode viral functions”
Aki Braceros, "Counterbalanced interactions between DNA regulatory elements control long-distance epigenetic silencing by the Airn lncRNA"
Moderator: Qi Zhang

May 18, 2022, 10 AM ET  Groupe de Recherche RNA (GDR)
Marc Graille, “TRMT112, a master regulator of RNA methyltransferases modifying factors involved in mRNA translation”
Andrey Klymchenko, "Fluorescent nanoparticles for amplified detection and imaging of RNA in solution and cells"
Moderator: Fabrice Leclerc, Ph.D.

May 4, 2022, 4 PM ET  The Bay Area RNA Club (BARC)
Julia Salzman, “Developmentally regulated RNA isoforms expression programs revealed by scRNA-seq”
Mark Ansel, "Dissecting post-transcriptional circuits in immune responses"
Moderator: Miri Krupkin

Apr 20, 2022, 4 PM ET  Cambridge RNA Club
Kathryn Lilley, Ph.D., “The spatial organisation of the cell”
Alex Borodavka, Ph.D., "Putting the spotlight on the molecular choreography of viral RNAs"
Moderator: Eric Miska, Ph.D.

Apr 6, 2022, 4 PM ET  Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI)
Luke Saville, “NERD-seq: A novel approach of Nanopore direct RNA sequencing that expands representation of non-coding RNAs”
Athan Zovoilis, "Dissecting the role of SINE non-coding RNAs in brain health and disease"

Mar 23, 2022, 4 PM ET  Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine
Josien van Wolfswinkel, Ph.D., “The role of PIWI proteins and piRNAs in the eternal life of planarian stem cells”
Stephanie Halene M.D.,Ph.D., "U2AF1 Mutations Enhance Stress Granule Response in Myeloid Malignancies"
Moderator: Prof. Karla Neugebauer, PhD.

Mar 9, 2022, 10 AM ET  European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Mainak Bose, PhD (Ephrussi group), “Liquid or solid - Do material properties of RNP granules matter in vivo?”
Pravin Jagtap, PhD (Hennig group), "Molecular insights into the remodelling of roX lncRNA during Drosophila dosage compensation"
Moderator: Janosch Hennig, PhD

Feb 9, 2022, 4 PM ET  USTC RNA Institute
Ge Shan, Ph.D., “CircRNA subclasses and functions”
Xiaoyuan Song, "The role of long noncoding RNAs in brain aging"
Moderator: Shouhong Guang, Ph.D.

Feb 23, 2022, 4 PM ET  University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology
Eric J. Wagner, PhD, “TItle TBA”
Peng Yao, PhD, "TItle TBA"
Moderator: Lynne Maquat, PhD

Jan 26, 2022, 4 PM ET  University of Michigan, Center for RNA Biomedicine
Kristin Koutmou, Ph.D., “Consequences of uridine modifications on translation”
Peter Todd, M.D., Ph.D., "Repeat associated Non-AUG initiated Translation in neurodegenerative disease"
Moderator: Mats Ljungman, Ph.D.

Jan 12, 2022, 4 PM ET  University of Wisconsin-Madison RNA MaxiGroup
Justin Mabin, Ph.D., “Human spliceosomal snRNA sequence variants generate variant spliceosomes” 
Bo Peng, Ph.D., “Characterization of RNA binding protein regulation in neural stem cell quiescence exit”
Brian Carrick, Ph.D., "Unraveling the multiple key roles of a single RBP in development"
Moderator: Aaron Hoskins, Ph.D.

Dec 15, 2021, 4 PM ET  Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine
Annalisa Di Ruscio, M.D., Ph.D. "A RNA-guided approach to epigenetic therapy"
Ioannis Vlachos, Ph.D. “Efficient integration of spatial transcriptomics and single cell sequencing technologies for in depth tissue interrogation” 
Moderator: Frank Slack, Ph.D. 

Dec 1, 2021, 4 PM ET  Penn RNA Group - University of Pennsylvania
Peter Choi, PhD
Kathryn Hamilton, PhD

Nov 17, 2021, 4 PM ET  The RNA Institute, University At Albany
Gabriele Fuchs, PhD “RACK1 as a regulator of Protein biosynthesis”
Cara Pager, PhD "RNA Shapes Zika virus gene expression"
Moderator: Marlene Belfort, Ph.D.

Oct 20, 2021, 9 AM ET  Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research
Chase Beisel, PhD “CRISPR-Cas systems and the dilemma(s) of adaptive immunity”
Antoine-Emmanuel Saliba, PhD "Uncovering host-pathogen interaction modalities using single-cell RNA-seq and RNA metabolic labeling"
Moderator: Neva Caliskan, Ph.D.

Nov 3, 2021, 4 PM ET UCSC Center for Molecular Biology of RNA
Jeremy Sanford, PhD“Post-transcriptional control of oncogenic gene expression by IGF2BP3”
Michael Stone, PhD"Multiplexed single-molecule analysis of human telomerase catalysis"

Oct 6, 2021  RNA Biology Center, CSI-NUS
Polly CHEN“Crosstalk between RNA editing and RNA splicing”
Yvonne TAY"Widespread 3’UTR splicing promotes oncogene expression and tumorigenesis"
Moderator: Daniel G.TENEN

Sep 22, 2021  NCI RNA Biology Initiative
Astrid Haase, MD, PhD“A small RNA perspective on genomic conflict”
John (Jay) Schneekloth, Jr, PhD"Targeting RNA with small molecules: tools and tactics"
Moderator: Sandra Wolin, MD, PhD

Sep 8, 2021, 4 PM ET  University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology
Jenna Lentini (PhD student) “DALRD3 targets specific arginine-tRNAs for 3-methylcytosine modification”
David Mathews, MD, PhD “Using conservation to determine RNA secondary structure”
Moderator: Lynne Maquat, PhD

Aug 25, 2021
Host: Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Germany
Prof. Dorothee Dormann: “Regulation of neurodegeneration-linked RNA-binding proteins by nuclear import receptors and post-translational modifications”
Prof. René Ketting: “Small RNAs and epigenetic inheritance”
Moderator: Julian König

Aug 11, 2021
Host: RiboClub, Canada
Éric Lécuyer, PhD: “Insights into the subcellular travels of cellular RNAs and RNA binding proteins”
Moderator: Sherif Abou Elela

Jul 14, 2021 iRNA @ Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)
Stefano Gustincich, PhD, “SINEUPs: a new functional class of antisense long non-coding RNAs”
Moderator: Prof. Gian Gaetano Tartaglia

Jun 30, 2021  University of Michigan, Center for RNA Biomedicine
Sethu Pitchiaya, Ph.D. “Dynamic multivalent interactions drive mammalian RNA regulation”
Chase Weidmann, Ph.D. "Characterizing cellular RNA-protein interaction networks with chemical probes"
Moderator: Nils Walter, Ph.D.

Jun 16, 2021  Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine
Wendy V. Gilbert, PhD “Revealing new functions for ancient RNA modifying enzymes in health and disease”
Antonio Giraldez, PhD "Mechanisms of posttranscriptional regulation during the maternal to zygotic transition"

Jun 2, 2021  European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Lena Anastasakou, Ph.D. “An evolutionarily conserved structure-to-function axis governs the functional mechanism of the regulatory lncRNA MEG3”
François Dossin, Ph.D. "Mechanistic dissection of SPEN function during X chromosome inactivation."

May 19, 2021  GDR RNA (@RNA_CNRS)
Jean-Louis Mergny, Ph.D.“Quadruplexes are everywhere”
Alexandre David, Ph.D."RNA Epigenetics steers colorectal cancer cell fate"

May 5, 2021  Cambridge RNA Club

April 21, 2021 Shanghai RNA Club

April 7, 2021 The Bay Area RNA Club (BARC)

March 24, 2021  UMass Chan Medical School, RNA Therapeutics Institute
Li Li, Ph.D., “Efficient chemical RNA copying with 2-aminoimidazole activated nucleotides”
Wenwen Fang, Ph.D., “Sensing RNA: from microRNA biogenesis to innate immunity”
Moderator: Erik Sontheimer, Ph.D.

March 10, 2021  Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI)
Luc Roberts, Ph.D., “Grad School to Biotech: A start up perspective”
Kristi Turton & Riya Roy, “RNA Innovation: The power of academic and industry collaborations”

March 3, 2021 HOST: The University of Michigan, Center for RNA Biomedicine (special guest seminar)
Melissa J. Moore, Ph.D., Moderna Therapeutics, "A timely confluence: The backstory of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine"
Moderator: Nils Walter, Ph.D., Co-Director, U-M Center for RNA Biomedicine

February 24, 2021 Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI)
Neva Caliskan, Ph.D., "Structural and molecular basis for Cardiovirus 2A protein as a viral gene expression switch"
Mathias Munschauer, Ph.D., "The SARS-CoV-2 RNA–protein interactome in infected human cells"
Moderator: Redmond Smyth, Ph.D.

January 13, 2021 NCI RNA Biology Initiative 
Nicholas Guydosh, PhD “Ribosome collisions and sites of quality control revealed by ribosome profiling”
Katherine McJunkin, PhD  “CRISPR screening to identify biologically important microRNA targets”
Moderator: Sandra Wolin, MD, PhD

December 16, 2020  European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Ina Huppertz, Ph.D. “RNA regulates Glycolysis and Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation via Enolase 1”
Olivier Duss, Ph.D.  “Co-transcriptional RNP complex assembly in real-time: How transient protein-RNA interactions guide nascent ribosomal RNA folding”
Moderator: Matthias Hentze, MD

December 2, 2020 University of California, Santa Cruz
Daniel Kim, PhD “RAS signaling regulates the noncoding transcriptome”
Susan Carpenter, PhD “How do noncoding RNAs contribute to inflammation?”
Moderator: Harry Noller, PhD

November 18, 2020  Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine
Suneet Agarwal, M.D., Ph.D. “Targeting telomerase RNA in degenerative diseases”
Carmelo Nucera. M.D., Ph.D.  “Role of coding and non-coding genes in aggressive thyroid cancer”
Moderator: Frank Slack, PhD

November 4, 2020 University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology
Paul Boutz, Ph.D. “Tumors taking the short cut: CDK12 and CDK13 in early transcription termination and nuclear RNA surveillance”
Clara Kielkopf, Ph.D.  “Targeting U2AF: A vulnerable rheostat of pre-mRNA splicing”
Moderator: David Mathews, MD, PhD

October 21, 2020 University of Pennsylvania RNA Group
Kathy Fange Liu, Ph.D. "RNA species dance to the beat of modifications" 
Yoseph Barash, Ph.D. "Splicing quantification from RNASeq - How to get the signal out of the noise?"
Moderator: Jeremy Wilusz, Ph.D.

October 7, 2020 The RNA Institute, University at Albany
Joseph Wade, Ph.D. “Pervasive translation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis” 
Scott Tenenbaum, Ph.D., “sxRNA: The Engineering of trans-Acting 3-Way Junctions for Function” 
Moderator: Thomas Begely, Ph.D.  

September 9, 2020 The University of Michigan, Center for RNA Biomedicine
Sue Hammoud, Ph.D. "Same Same Different: Single cell RNAseq identifies conserved and divergent features of mammalian spermatogenesis"
Justin Colacino, Ph.D. "Single cell transcriptomic profiling to understand breast stem cell heterogeneity in development and cancer disparities"
Moderator: Mats Ljungman, Ph.D 

August 26, 2020 Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine 
Siyuan (Steven) Wang, Ph.D.  “Image-based spatial genomics and transcriptomics”
Junjie Guo, Ph.D. “RNA decay deficits cause neurodegeneration in ALS/FTD”   
Moderator: Karla Neugebauer 

August 12, 2020 NCI RNA Biology Initiative
Shuo Gu, Ph.D.  “A tale of tails: How 3’ uridylation alters miRNA function”
Voula Mili, Ph.D. “Local co-translational interactions control protein function”
Moderator: Sandra L. Wolin, MD, PhD 

July 29, 2020 Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine 
Tim Yu, MD, PhD. “Prospects for hyper-individualized RNA medicines”
Shobha Vasudevan, Ph.D. “A specialized post-transcriptional program in chemoresistant, quiescent cancer cells”
Moderator: Frank Slack, Ph.D. 

July 15, 2020 University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology 
Mitch O’Connell, Ph.D. “Programmable RNA-targeting by CRISPR-Cas enzymes”
Xin Li, Ph.D. “Coupled protein synthesis and ribosome-guided piRNA processing on mRNAs”
Moderator: Lynne Maquat, Ph.D.  
 
July 1, 2020 MD Anderson Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs
Dr. Simone Anfossi, Ph.D. “ncRNAs: ‘inside out’ cancer regulomers”
Dr. Cristian Rodriguez-Aguayo, Ph.D. “Therapeutic Targeting of ncRNAs in Cancer”
Moderator: George Calin

June 17, 2020 UMass Chan Medical School, RNA Therapeutics Institute
Athma Pai, Ph.D. “How efficiently do cells create mRNA? Balancing speed and accuracy in gene regulation”
Jonathan Watts, Ph.D. “Fighting an RNA virus with an RNA drug”
Moderator: Phil Zamore 

June 3, 2020 Riboclub, Sherbrooke
Francois Bachand, Ph.D. “Nutrient-dependent control of RNA polymerase II elongation rate regulates gene expression programs by alternative polyadenylation”
Andrew McMillan, Ph.D. “Spliceosome Structure: Can the Blind Men Now Describe the Elephant?”
Moderator: Sherif Abou Elela

May 20, 2020 The RNA Institute, University At Albany
Morgan Sammons, Ph.D. “Regulatory paradigms controlling a core stress response”
Alan Chen, Ph.D. “Simulating RNA folding pathways in 3D using sparse experimental constraints”
Moderator: Marlene Belfort, Ph.D.

May 6, 2020 University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine
Peter Freddolino, Ph.D. “It’s not the gene, it’s the neighborhood: Effects of large scale chromosomal structure on bacterial transcription”
Stephanie Moon, Ph.D. “A link between translation quality control and mRNA targeting to stress granules”
Moderator: Nils Walter, Ph.D.

April 22, 2020 Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine
Sarah Slavoff, Ph.D. “Regulation of RNA decapping and phase separation by a human polypeptide”
Nadya Dimitova, Ph.D. “Long Noncoding RNAs in Cancer: What, Where and How?”
Moderator: Karla Neugebauer, Ph.D.