2020 News
December 19, 2020 - New publication from the Mello Lab. The RNA phosphatase PIR-1 regulates endogenous small RNA pathways in C. elegans. Chaves DA, Dai H, Li L, Moresco JJ, Oh ME, Conte D Jr, Yates JR 3rd, Mello CC, Gu W. Mol Cell. 2020 Dec 19:S1097-2765(20)30896-0. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.12.004. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33378643
December 15, 2020 - Congratulations to Dr. Anna Loveland, she has won the RNA Society's 2021 RNA Society/Scaringe Post-doctoral Fellow Award. Her postdoctoral research under the guidance of Professor Andrei Korostelev has applied Cryo-EM to understand ribosome function, particularly during stress, tRNA decoding and in disease. She has focused on identifying how RelA-bound ribosomes detect the accumulation of deacyl-tRNA during amino acid depletion, and the structural basis by which the ribosome performs proofreading - a process ensuring that correct tRNAs are selected during translation that relies on switching of ribosome conformational states. Her approaches have provided the field “molecular movies” illuminating how RNA decoding occurs, including during initial tRNA selection.
December 13, 2020 Let's Go Viral: COVID-19 Therapies & Vaccines. Dr. Vignesh Hariharan (Khvorova lab) and Dr. Manish Muhuri (Gao lab), discussed the strategies and challenges involved in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, link forthcoming.
December 1, 2020 - RTI and Korostelev postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Anna Loveland has been named STAT Wunderkind by STAT news. STAT Wunderkinds honors the brightest young minds in life science for their work in academia, industry and in the clinic. Congratulations Anna, Class of 2020!!
November 5, 2020 ArfB can displace mRNA to rescue stalled ribosomes. Carbone CE, Demo G, Madireddy R, Svidritskiy E, Korostelev AA. Nat Commun. 2020 Nov 3;11(1):5552. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19370-z. PMID: 33144582
November 3, 2020 ScienceLIVE brings virtual labs to area middle school students. Drs. Angela Messmer-Blust, Athma Pai, Christina Baer and Mary Pickering found outreach program for area middle school students.
November 1, 2020 - New publication from the Mello Lab. Melting dsDNA Donor Molecules Greatly Improves Precision Genome Editing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Ghanta KS, Mello CC. Genetics. 2020 Nov 1;216(3):643-650. doi: 10.1534/genetics.120.303564. PMID: 33954599
October 27, 2020 Congratulations to Dr. Erik Sontheimer on his proposal, together with colleagues around the world, Editing the Failing Heart, has been awarded a grant under the Leducq Foundation Network's 2020 Transatlantic Networks of Excellence Program.
September 24, 2020 - New publication from the Watts Lab. Detecting chromatin interactions between and along sister chromatids with SisterC. Oomen ME, Hedger AK, Watts JK, Dekker J. Detecting chromatin interactions between and along sister chromatids with SisterC. Nat Methods. 2020 Sep 23. doi: 10.1038/s41592-020-0930-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32968250.
September 24, 2020 - New publication from the Mello Lab. Melting dsDNA Donor Molecules Greatly Improves Precision Genome Editing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Ghanta KS, Mello CC. Genetics. 2020 Sep 22:genetics.303564.2020. doi: 10.1534/genetics.120.303564. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32963112
September 19, 2020 - New publication from the Mello Lab. PIE-1 promotes SUMOylation and activation of HDAC1 during the C. elegans oogenesis. Heesun Kim, Yue-He Ding, Shan Lu, Mei-Qing Zuo, Darryl Conte Jr., Meng-Qiu Dong, Craig C. Mello bioRxiv 2020.08.17.253955; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.17.253955
September 19, 2020 - New publication from the Mello Lab. HDAC1 SUMOylation promotes Argonaute directed transcriptional silencing in C. elegans. Heesun Kim, Yue-He Ding, Gangming Zhang, Yong-Hong Yan, Darryl Conte Jr., Meng-Qiu Dong, Craig C. Mello bioRxiv 2020.08.17.254466; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.17.254466
September 15, 2020 - New publication from the Aronin Lab. Large Animal Models of Huntington's Disease: What We Have Learned and Where We Need to Go Next. Howland D, Ellederova Z, Aronin N, Fernau D, Gallagher J, Taylor A, Hennebold J, Weiss A, Gray-Edwards H, McBride J. J Huntingtons Dis. 2020 Sep 10. doi: 10.3233/JHD-200425. Online ahead of print.PMID: 32925082 Review.
September 8, 2020 - New publication from the Zamore Lab. Terminal Modification, Sequence, and Length Determine Small RNA Stability in Animals Ildar Gainetdinov, Cansu Colpan, Katharine Cecchini, Paul Albosta, Karina Jouravleva, Joel Vega-Badillo, Yongjin Lee, Deniz M. Özata, Phillip D. Zamore. bioRxiv,
September 7, 2020 - Post Magazine interviewed Erik Sontheimer, PhD for the article What is CRISPR? The gene-editing technology carries much promise - and peril - amid pandemic. Mike Hodgkinson
September 4, 2020 - New publication from the Aronin Lab. Huntington's Disease: Les Jeux Sont Faits? Pfister EL, Aronin N. Trends Mol Med. 2020 Sep 4:S1471-4914(20)30206-9. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2020.08.004. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32893090
September 1, 2020 - Congratulations to Chantal M. Ferguson in the Khvorova lab for receiving the Dr. Alan M. Gewirtz Memorial Scholarship Award for Graduate Students from the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (OTS).
September 1, 2020 - Congratulations to Annabelle Biscans, PhD, formerly of the Khvorova Lab for receiving the Dr. Alan M. Gewirtz Memorial Scholarship Award for Postdoctoral Fellows and Junior Industrial Professionals from the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (OTS).
August 31, 2020 - New publication from the Korostelev Lab. Ribosome inhibition by C9ORF72-ALS/FTD-associated poly-PR and poly-GR proteins revealed by cryo-EM. bioRxiv,
August 25, 2020 - New publication from the Zamore Lab. Thermus thermophilus Argonaute Functions in the Completion of DNA Replication. Jolly Samson, Gainestdinov Ildar, Jouravleva Karina, Zhang Han, Strittmatter Lara, Bailey Shannon, Hendricks Gregory, Dhabaria Avantika, Ueberheide Beatric, Zamore Phillip. Cell 2020, August 25 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.07.036
August 22, 2020 - New publication from the Korostelev Lab. Termi-Luc: a versatile assay to monitor full-protein release from ribosomes. Susorov D, Egri S, Korostelev AA. RNA. 2020 Aug 14:rna.076588.120. doi: 10.1261/rna.076588.120. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32817446
August 6, 2020 - New publication from Zamore lab. One small step for worms, one giant leap for small RNAs. Phillip D. Zamore. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-020-00281-2
July 25, 2020 - New publication from the Khvorova lab. Single-Stranded Phosphorothioated Regions Enhance Cellular Uptake of Cholesterol-Conjugated siRNA but Not Silencing Efficacy. Socheata Ly, Dimas Echeverria, Jacquelyn Sousa, Anastasia Khvorova. Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids DOI 2020 Jul 25;21:991-1005 :https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtn.2020.07.029
July 20, 2020 - Congratulations to Dr. Anastasia Khvorova, Professor, on her appointment to the The Remondi Family Chair in Biomedical Research. Anastasia becomes the fifth RTI faculty member to be recognized with an endowed chair position, and the fourth among our current faculty.
July 20, 2020 - Congratulations to Dr. Erik Sontheimer, Professor and Vice Chair, on his appointment to the Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research. Erik becomes the fourth RTI faculty member to be recognized with an endowed chair position, and the third endowed chair among our current faculty.
July 16, 2020 - New publication from the Khvorova lab. The chemical structure and phosphorothioate content of hydrophobically modified siRNAs impact extrahepatic distribution and efficacy. Biscans A, Caiazzi J, Davis S, McHugh N, Sousa J, Khvorova A. Nucleic Acids Res. 2020 Jul 16:gkaa595. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaa595
July 6, 2020 - Congratulations, Dr. Phillip D. Zamore, NIH MIRA awardee for Understanding the Evolution, Biology, and Molecular Mechanism of Argonaute Proteins!
July 3, 2020 - New perspective from the Sontheimer Lab. Shutting down RNA-targeting CRISPR. Barrangou R & Sontheimer EJ. July 2020 Science.
July 1, 2020 - New publication from the Korostelev Lab. Cryo-EM of elongating ribosome with EF-Tu•GTP elucidates tRNA proofreading. Loveland AB, Demo G, & Korostelev AA. 1 July, 2020. Nature doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2447-x
June 29, 2020 - New publication from the Zamore Lab. The evolutionarily conserved piRNA-producing locus pi6 is required for male mouse fertility. Wu PH, Fu Y, Cecchini K, Özata DM, Arif A, Yu T, Colpan C, Gainetdinov I, Weng Z, & Zamore PD. Nat Genet (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-020-0657-7
- Press coverage:
June 12, 2020 - New publication from the Khvorova Lab. Cell type impacts accessibility of mRNA to silencing by RNA interference. Ferguson CM, Echeverria D, Matthew Hassler M, Socheata Ly S, and Khvorova A.12 June 2020 Mol Therapy Nucleic Acids.
June 17, 2020 - RNA Collaborative Seminar Series, RTI Hosted
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
Watch On Demand
June 12, 2020 - Katherine Fitzgerald and Anastasia Khvorova named Harrington Scholars The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, in collaboration with Morgan Stanley GIFT Cures, has chosen two UMass Chan Medical School faculty members to receive Harrington Scholar Awards for Coronavirus.
June 9, 2020 - New publication from the Korostelev Lab. Ribosome Engineering Reveals the Importance of 5S rRNA Autonomy for Ribosome Assembly Huang S, Aleksashin NA, Loveland AB, Klepacki D, Reier K, Kefi A, Szal T, Remme J, Jaeger L, Vázquez-Laslop N, Korostelev AA, Mankin AS. Nat Commun, 2020 Jun 9;11(1):2900. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16694-8.
June 4, 2020 - MD/PhD-student-led research finds potential new gene target for pediatric liver cancer - MD/PhD student Jordan Smith, Xue Lab, shares details about new research into a promising therapeutic target for a rare, primarily pediatric liver cancer. UMassMedNow.
May 27, 2020 - Congratulations to Dr. Erik Sontheimer on his proposal, together with colleagues around the world, Editing the Failing Heart, has been awarded a grant under the Leducq Foundation Network's 2020 Transatlantic Networks of Excellence Program.
May 27, 2020 - Dr. Wen Xue presented "CRISPR-Based In Vivo Genome Editing and Base Editing" webinar - View Now
May 26, 2020 - New publication from the Xue and Sontheimer Labs. YAP1 withdrawal in hepatoblastoma drives therapeutic differentiation of tumor cells to functional hepatocyte‐like cells. Smith JL, Rodríguez TC, Mou H, Kwan SY, Pratt H, Zhang XO, Cao Y, Liang S, Ozata DM, Yu T, Yin Q, Hazeltine M, Zhiping Weng Z, Sontheimer EJ, Xue W. 2020 26 May, AASLD, doi:10.1002/hep.31389
May 19, 2020 - New publication from the Grigorieff and Korostelev Labs. mRNA Stem-Loops Can Pause the Ribosome by Hindering A-site tRNA Binding. Bao C, Loerch S, Ling C, Korostelev AA, Grigorieff N, Ermolenko DN. ELife 2020 May 19;9:e55799. doi: 10.7554/eLife.55799
May 18, 2020 - New publication from the Sontheimer Lab. A Cas9 with PAM recognition for adenine dinucleotides. Chatterjee P, Lee J, Lisa Nip, Koseki SRT, Tysinger T, Sontheimer EJ, Jacobson JM, & Jakimo N, 18 May 2020, Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16117-8
May 18, 2020 - Congratulations to Dr. Anastasia Khvorova for receiving the Women in Science & Health Achievement Faculty Award!
May 15, 2020 - New publication from the Khvorova lab. 2'-O-Methyl at 20-mer Guide Strand 3' Termini May Negatively Affect Target Silencing Activity of Fully Chemically Modified siRNA. Davis SM, Sousa J, Vangjeli L, Hassler MR, Echeverria D, Knox E, Turanov AA, Alterman JF, Khvorova A. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2020 May 15;21:266-277. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2020.05.010
May 11, 2020 - Anastasia Khvorova elected director of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy UMass Chan Medical School RNA therapeutics expert Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, has been elected by the membership of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy to a three-year term as director-at-large/scientific & research council chair, which will begin at the 2020 ASGCT virtual annual meeting.
May 11, 2020 - New publication from the Sontheimer Lab. An engineered ScCas9 with broad PAM range and high specificity and activity. Chatterjee P, Jakimo N, Lee J, Amrani N, Rodríguez T, Koseki SRT, Emma Tysinger, Qing R, Hao S, Sontheimer EJ, & Jacobson J. Nat Biotechnol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-020-0517-0
May 5, 2020 - New publication from the Watts Lab. Infrared Spectroscopy Reveals the Preferred Motif Size and Local Disorder in Parallel Stranded DNA G-quadruplexes. Price DA, Kartje ZJ, Hughes JA, Hill TD, Loth TM, Watts JK, Gagnon KT, Moran SD. Chembiochem. 2020 May 5. doi: 10.1002/cbic.202000136. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 32372560
April 27, 2020 - New publication from the Watts Lab. RNA therapeutics on the rise. Wang F, Zuroske T, Watts JK. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2020 Apr 27. doi: 10.1038/d41573-020-00078-0. No abstract available.
April 24, 2020 - New publication from the Xue Lab. Chemical modifications of adenine base editor mRNA and guide RNA expand its application scope Jiang T, Henderson JM, Coote K, Cheng Y, Valley HC, Zhang XO, Wang Q, Rhym LH, Cao Y, Newby GA, Bihler H, Mense M, Weng Z, Anderson DG, McCaffrey AP, Liu DR, & Xue W. Nat Commun 11, 1979 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15892-8
March 19, 2020 - New publication from the Sontheimer Lab. Anti-CRISPRs: Protein Inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas Systems. Davidson AR, Lu WT, Stanley SY, Wang J, Mejdani M, Trost CN, Hicks BT, Lee J, Sontheimer EJ. Annu Rev Biochem. 2020 Mar 18. doi: 10.1146/annurev-biochem-011420-111224. PMID: 32186918
March 6, 2020 - New publication from the Khvorova Lab. Hydrophobically Modified let-7b miRNA Enhances Biodistribution to NSCLC and Downregulates HMGA2 In Vivo. Meirav Segal, Annabelle Biscans, Maud-Emmanuelle Gilles, Eleni Anastasiadou, Roberto De Luca, Jihoon Lim, Anastasia Khvorova, Frank J.Slack. Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, Volume 19, 6 March 2020, Pages 267-277 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtn.2019.11.008
February 4, 2020 - New publication from the Zamore & Gao Labs. Effective and Accurate Gene Silencing by a Recombinant AAV-Compatible MicroRNA Scaffold. Xie J, Tai PWL, Brown A, Gong S, Zhu S, Wang Y, Li C, Colpan C, Su Q, He R, Ma H, Li J, Ye H, Ko J, Zamore PD, Gao G. Mol Ther. 2020 Feb 5;28(2):422-430. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2019.11.018. Epub 2019 Nov 27.
January 13, 2020 - New review from the Watts Lab. RNA Interference for the Masses? siRNA Targeting PCSK9 Promises Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. Watts JK, Ockene IS. Nucleic Acid Ther. 2020 Jan 13. doi: 10.1089/nat.2019.0835. PMID: 31928497