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Episode Title: "Survival of the Fittest"
Writer: Sera Gamble
Director: Robert Singer
Previously on "Supernatural":
Episode 7.22: "There Will Be Blood"
The King of Hell, Crowley (Mark Sheppard) finds himself stuck in a Devil's trap by Dick Roman (James Patrick Stuart), the leader of the Leviathans. Crowley realizes that Roman knows about Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester's (Jensen Ackles) plan to create a holy weapon that can kill even Roman if Crowley's blood is added to an angel's blood and an Alpha's blood. Roman is also smart enough to work out that Crowley had a contingency plan in place in case Roman was able to destroy him. So, Roman offers Crowley and his demonic forces Canada in exchange for leaving America to the Leviathans.
Crowley produces an insanely long contract filled with sub-clauses for Roman to look over and sign while Sam and Dean begin examining records of dead Nuns to find one righteous enough that her bones can be used as a holy instrument to kill the Leviathans. Elsewhere, the ghost of Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) continues to possess the housekeeper, Louise (Larissa Gomes) while making his way towards Roman's corporate headquarters. Because Crowley is in the Demon's trap, he is not able to answer the summons of Sam and Dean before Meg (Rachel Miner) arrives with Castiel (Misha Collins), who seems just as mentally unbalanced as he was previously.
Although Castiel is barely able to focus, he tells the Winchesters that the Leviathans now hold the prophet, Kevin Tran (Osric Chau) and that the host of angels protecting Kevin have all been killed. Just then, Meg notices that the Winchesters have summoned Crowley and she starts to panic right before Crowley appears and blocks her retreat. Crowley is also surprised and enraged to find Castiel there, but he quickly notes that the angel has apparently gone insane. Crowley even admits that he was held up because Roman had him in a Devil's trap and wanted him to give the brothers the blood of a minor demon instead of his own.
Crowley assures the Winchesters that the blood he is providing is his and he promises to destroy Meg in the future before departing. Elsewhere, Louise is briefly freed from Bobby's possession before he quickly retakes control of her body. Back at his corporate office, Roman seems to be well aware that Crowley will try to screw him, so he has his assistant, Susan (Olivia Cheng) bring him the arm of the real Dick Roman. Meanwhile, a young woman named Polly (Niki Wipf) is locked up with Kevin by his Leviathan captors, but she is too docile from the Leviathans' food additives to even engage in a proper conversation with Kevin.
After their captors take Polly and parade her in front of the visiting Leviathan leaders, Kevin picks the lock of his room and overhears the leaders' plan to get rid of healthy people like Polly by adding a new additive to the food supply. Polly dies horribly when the additive is injected into her system and Kevin is quickly recaptured by Susan. Outside, Sam and Dean use a backdoor security feed (provided by their brief hacker ally, Charlie). Unfortunately, they see that Roman has created several doubles of himself by having other Leviathans touch the arm of the real Dick Roman. Sam also spots Louise attempting to sneak into the building and he recognizes her as a maid from the hotel where Bobby abandoned them.
Sam confronts Bobby (in Louise's body) and tries to keep him from throwing her life away. Bobby nearly chokes Sam to death before realizing what he was doing and fleeing Louise's body. Later at the cabin, the Winchesters fill in Castiel and Meg on the latest developments, but Castiel once again refuses to fight. During his brief absence, Meg explains that Castiel is the only one who can tell the Leviathans apart by sight no matter whose body they're wearing. Shortly thereafter, Bobby's ghost reappears and apologizes for nearly killing Sam. He tells them to destroy the flask and banish his spirit from this world. The Winchesters comply with Bobby's last wish and solemnly watch him burn away.
Dean finds Castiel playing board games with himself and he finally manages to convince the fallen angel to help them finish Roman off once and for all. And because Roman is expecting them, they decide to announce themselves "loudly." To that end, the Impala is taken out of storage before it blasts through the front gate of Roman's corporate headquarters. Meg gets out of the car and begins killing Leviathans as Sam, Dean and Castiel sneak into the main building. Inside, Sam finds Kevin, who warns him that they have to blow up the Leviathans' lab to prevent their newest additive from being used on healthy people.
Outside, Meg stands triumphant over the Leviathans, but she is soon blindsided by two of Crowley's demons. Inside the building, Dean and Castiel find the real Leviathan leader posing as Roman and attempt to kill him with the holy weapon… which fails spectacularly. But just when Roman is feeling invulnerable, Dean produces the real weapon and stabs Roman through the neck while Castiel holds him. A strange energy buildup emanates from the fatal wound before Roman explodes. As the smoke fades, Sam and Kevin see that there is no sign of Dean or Castiel. Crowley then appears and he explains that the holy weapon "had a kick."
Crowley also has his demons take Kevin into their custody and teleport away, leaving Sam on his own to face the remaining Leviathans. Elsewhere, Dean wakes up and Castiel tells them that they are now trapped in Purgatory with all of the monsters, who are now closing in on them. Dean says that they should leave, but when he turns, Castiel is already gone.
After dragging along for the entire seventh season of "Supernatural," the Leviathan storyline is finally over. I hope…
The ending of "Survival of the Fittest" suggested that there may be several Leviathan leaders still active who might try to replace Dick Roman and continue his plans for the human race. Or at the very least, they could give Sam a lot of problems as he tries to fight his way out of their stronghold by himself.
I've been fairly supportive of Bobby Singer's storyline this year, from his poignant deathbed episode to his return as an increasingly vengeful ghost. But if this was the end of Bobby's time on the show than he went out with a huge whimper. What was the point of bringing Bobby back as a ghost if the entire angle was just going to be squandered in his final appearance? If felt like there was a lot of territory worth exploring before Bobby finally decided to have the Winchesters banish his ghost.
About the only thing that this episode got right about Bobby was his goodbye scene with the Winchesters. Jim Beaver gave a standout performance while Bobby offered his last bit of advice and best wishes to the Winchesters before the camera stayed on Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as they silently reacted to the destruction of Bobby's spirit. Moments like that are what make "Supernatural" worth coming back to.
Crazy Castiel was also a lot of fun, especially when he identified the Nun's bone by smelling it and when he presented ham sandwiches to Sam and Dean while mentioning how he comforted the pig before slaughtering it himself. There was also a strong scene between Castiel and Dean that helped heal the divide between them. Of course, Castiel bailing out on Dean in Purgatory was a step backwards for that relationship. But I highly doubt that Castiel would let Dean die that way.
On its own, there's nothing wrong with the idea of a cliffhanger ending where Dean and Castiel are stuck in Purgatory. The problem is that this show has already done cliffhanger endings with Dean and Sam trapped in Hell (or mysteriously returned from Hell, in Sam's case). It just seems like a rehash. And what were the Leviathans, really, if not slightly different demons with big teeth and a comical aversion to household cleaners? Any series that goes as long as "Supernatural" runs the risk of repeating itself at some point. But it's almost as if the writers don't even care about finding new angles anymore.
It was refreshing that Meg didn't betray the Winchesters and that she was right about Crowley being the next major threat on the show. It was also good to see the Impala again, even if it was sacrilege to let Meg drive it! All kidding aside, I'd like to see Rachel Miner stay on the show next season. There's something inherently amusing about Meg being one of the few real allies that Sam and Dean have left. I figured that Kevin would be on their team as well, but the writers need to find something else for him to do besides constantly being held hostage.
"Survival of the Fittest" was good enough for a season finale. But I'd love to see "Supernatural" recapture its earlier greatness in the eighth season next fall.


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AUGUST 16, 2017 U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern meets with Anastasia Khvorova, Chancellor Michael Collins, Dean Terry Flotte, Beth McCormick and others to discuss critical NIH funding for UMass Medical School. Video of the discussion can be found here. Link to the article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette here.
JUNE 29, 2017 New publication from the Sontheimer lab. Inhibition of CRISPR-Cas systems by mobile genetic elements. Sontheimer EJ, Davidson AR. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2017 Jun 29;37:120-127. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2017.06.003. [Epub ahead of print] Review.
JUNE 14, 2017 New publication from the Xue, Sontheimer, & Moore labs. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing induces exon skipping by alternative splicing or exon deletion. Mou H†, Smith JL†, Peng L, Yin H, Moore J, Zhang XO, Song CQ, Sheel A, Wu Q, Ozata DM, Yingxiang Li Y, Anderson DG, Emerson CP, Sontheimer EJ, Moore MJ, Weng Z, Xue W. Genome Biology 2017 18:108 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-017-1237-8 Editorial hihlighting this publication can be found here.
JUNE 12, 2017 New publication from the Khvorova lab. 5-Vinylphosphonate improves tissue accumulation and efficacy of conjugated siRNAs in vivo. Haraszti RA, Roux L, Coles AH, Turanov AA, Alterman JF, Echeverria D, Godinho BMDC, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Jun 7. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkx507. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28591791
JUNE 7, 2017 Worcester Foundation Research Grant recipients awarded to three faculty members in the RTI:
David Grünwald, Ph.D., "Prototype development for a 20 color, 3D real time microscope"
Andrei Korostelev, Ph.D., "Elucidating the translation-transcription coupling"
Jonathan Watts, Ph.D., "T to C conversion for amplifiable metabolic labeling of DNA at single base resolution"
MAY 24, 2017 New publication from the Korostelev lab. "Transfer RNAs & the ribosome decoding centers that read their genetic instructions are almost the same for all life on earth—that's why we are very excited by this discovery, which explains the accuracy of genetic code reading," -Dr. Korostelev Ensemble cryo-EM elucidates the mechanism of translation fidelity. Loveland AB, Demo G, Grigorieff N, & Korostelev AA. Nature (2017) doi:10.1038/nature22397 For details, please click here.
MAY 2, 2017 Melissa Moore, Ph.D., Eleanor Eustis Farrington Chair in Cancer Research and Professor in the RNA Therapeutics Institute has been newly elected to The National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Moore, who was appointed chief scientific officer of the messenger RNA platform at Moderna Therapeutics last fall, was among 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected, in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. For details, please click here.
MAY 2, 2017 New publication from the Khvorova & Aronin labs. Synthesis and Evaluation of Parenchymal Retention and Efficacy of a Metabolically Stable, O-phosphocholine-N-docosahexaenoyl-L-serine siRNA Conjugate in Mouse Brain. Nikan M, Osborn MF, Coles AH, Biscans A, Godinho B, Haraszti R, Sapp E, Echeverria D, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, and Khvorova A. Just Accepted Manuscript. Bioconjugate Chem, doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00226
APRIL 21, 2017 Ami Ashar-Patel, a PhD candidate in the Moore lab, has been selected to participate in the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) Certificate in Bioscience Management Program. She received a KGI Burroughs Wellcome Fund scholarship and a UMass Medical School Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences career development grant. For details, please click here.
APRIL 20, 2017 New publication from the Korostelev & Zamore labs. Small methyltransferase RlmH assembles a composite active site to methylate a ribosomal pseudouridine Koh CS, Madireddy R, Beane TJ, Zamore PD, & Korostelev AA. Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 969 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-01186-5 PMID: 28428565
APRIL 12, 2017 Neil Aronin, MD, Professor of Medicine & RNA Therapeutics Institute, co-director of the Neurotherapeutics Institute, chief of the division of endocrinology & metabolism will serve as the Higgins Family Professor of Neuroscience. A member of the UMMS faculty since 1981, Dr. Aronin established and has maintained a groundbreaking research focused on Huntington's disease; and recent explorations of how gene therapy might be used to slow the progression, may lead to promising clinical trials.
APRIL 10, 2017 Andrei Korostelev, PhD, Associate Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, was in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette this past Saturday. Andrei discussed how the new Cryo-EM at UMASS Medical School helps his lab study the movement and function of the ribosome, the most important cellular machine for making proteins. For details, please click here.
APRIL 4, 2017 New publication from the Korostelev lab. "This is an important paper that describes an alternate rescue system in bacteria for ribosomes that are stalled on an mRNA without a stop codon." by a reviewer. Mechanism of ribosome rescue by ArfA and RF2. Demo G, Svidritskiy E, Madireddy R, Diaz-Avalos R, Grant T, Grigorieff N, Sousa D, Korostelev AA. Elife. 2017 Mar 16;6. pii: e23687. doi: 10.7554/eLife.23687. PMID: 28300532.
MARCH 20, 2017 New publication from the Mello lab. The Antiviral RNA Interference Response Provides Resistance to Lethal Arbovirus Infection and Vertical Transmission in Caenorhabditis elegans. Gammon DB, Ishidate T, Li L, Gu W, Silverman N, Mello CC. Curr Biol. 2017 Mar 20;27(6):795-806. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.004. Epub 2017 Mar 2. PMID: 28262484
FEBRUARY 15, 2017 Dr. Erik J. Sontheimer, professor in the RNA Therapeutics Institute, is quoted in Science in a story about the patent battle over CRISPR/Cas9 technology. For details, please click here.
FEBRUARY 13, 2017 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant Professor of RTI, is in The Boston Globe talking about promising Immunotherapy fighting lung cancer. For details, please click here.
FEBRUARY 1, 2017 Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute is in The Scientist to talk about RNA interference between plant and pathogen. For details, please click here.
JANUARY 6, 2017 Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, explains the promise of oligonucleotide therapeutics, including the results of a Phase I clinical trial of a new injectable cholesterol-lowering drug Inclisiran in NEJM. Inclisiran is a chemically modified siRNA developed by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a company co-founded by Phillip Zamore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the Gretchen Stone Cook Chair of Biomedical Sciences & director of the RTI. For details, please click here.
DECEMBER 12, 2016 New publication from the Xue lab. This is a featured article on the journal homepage with an accompanying editorial. Genome-wide CRISPR Screen Identifies Regulators of MAPK as Suppressors of Liver Tumors in Mice. Song C-Q, Li Y, Mou H, Moore J, Park A, Pomyen Y, Hough S, Kennedy Z, Fischer A, Yin H, Anderson DG, Conte Jr D, Zender L, Wang XW, Thorgeirsson S, Weng Z, Xue W Gastroenterology (2017), doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2016.12.002
NOVEMBER 28, 2016 New publication from the Khvorova lab. Visualization of self-delivering hydrophobically modified siRNA cellular internalization. Ly S, Navaroli DM, Didiot MC, Cardia J, Pandarinathan L, Alterman JF, Fogarty K, Standley C, Lifshitz LM, Bellve KD, Prot M, Echeverria D, Corvera S, Khvorova A. Nucleic Acids Res. 2016 Nov 28. pii: gkw1005. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 27899655
NOVEMBER 20, 2016 New publication from the Khvorova lab. High-resolution proteomic and lipidomic analysis of exosomes and microvesicles from different cell sources. Haraszti RA, Didiot MC, Sapp E, Leszyk J, Shaffer SA, Rockwell HE, Gao F, Narain NR, DiFiglia M, Kiebish MA, Aronin N, Khvorova A.J Extracell Vesicles. 2016 Nov 17;5:32570. doi: 10.3402/jev.v5.32570. eCollection 2016. PMID:27863537
OCTOBER 24, 2016 New publication from the Khvorova lab Exosome-mediated Delivery of Hydrophobically Modified siRNA for Huntingtin mRNA Silencing. Didiot MC, Hall LM, Coles AH, Haraszti RA, Godinho BM, Chase K, Sapp E, Ly S, Alterman JF, Hassler MR, Echeverria D, Raj L, Morrissey DV, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Mol Ther. 2016 Oct;24(10):1836-1847. doi: 10.1038/mt.2016.126. PMID: 27506293
OCTOBER 17, 2016 Dr. Anastasia Khvorova, Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, was featured in Sunday's Telegram. On October 16th, Dr. Khvorova and Julia Alterman, a graduate student in her lab, were both in the cover story " Searching for cures at UMASS". For details, please click here.
OCTOBER 13, 2016 New publication from the Zamore lab. Rapid Screening for CRISPR-Directed Editing of the Drosophila Genome Using white Coconversion. Ge DT, Tipping C, Brodsky MH, Zamore PD. G3 (Bethesda). 2016 Oct 13;6(10):3197-3206. doi: 10.1534/g3.116.032557. PMID: 27543296
OCTOBER 4, 2016 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, won a DP2 award from NIH. The Xue lab research focuses on building precision mouse models of cancer and genetic diseases using RNA tools. Wen's project titled "CRISPR-BASED MODULAR THERAPY FOR PRECISION MEDICINE " won the NIH Director's New Innovator Award, which is part of a NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) program supporting highly creative and exceptional scientists with 3bold approaches to major challenges in biomedical research. This award will be for five years, total about 2.5 millon dollars. For details, please click here.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 Dr. Wen Xue, Assistant professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute received grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels. Wen accepted a $250,000 grant on Friday, Sept. 23 from the Hyundai Motor America Hope on Wheels campaign to continue his work toward improving care and treatment options for children and adults with liver cancer. For details, please click here.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 Dr. David Grunwald, Assistant Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, awarded R01. The Grunwald lab received an R01 grant from NIH/NIGMS for the project "Canonical and non-canonical nuclear HIV-RNA gene export in living cells".
SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant Professor of RTI, selected to receive award from The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF). Dr. Xue received the award as an extension for his LCRF grant of last year on his research targeting small RNA-mediated KRAS inhibition in lung cancer. His application received outstanding reviews.
AUGUST 26, 2016 New publication from the Watts lab. Single-Stranded Silencing RNAs: Hit Rate and Chemical Modification. Pendergraff HM, Debacker AJ, Watts JK. Nucleic Acid Ther. 2016 Aug;26(4):216-22. doi: 10.1089/nat.2015.0557. PMID: 27123752
AUGUST 15, 2016 New publication from the Khvorova lab. Docosahexaenoic Acid Conjugation Enhances Distribution and Safety of siRNA upon Local Administration in Mouse Brain. Nikan M, Osborn MF, Coles AH, Godinho BM, Hall LM, Haraszti RA, Hassler MR, Echeverria D, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2016 Aug 9;5(8):e344. doi: 10.1038/mtna. 2016.50. PMID:27504598
AUGUST 10, 2016 Dr. Wen Xue, Assistant professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, awarded a subproject of P01 grant with the UMass program project team. The Xue lab received a five-year P01 grant (PI: Dr. Terence R. Flotte) from NIH/NHLBI to study "Liver-directed somatic gene correction rAAV system of regulatable Cas9/sgRNA". For details, please click here.
AUGUST 4, 2016 Paper of the year award from OTS goes to the Zamore and Moore Labs. Paper entitled "Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals that Argonaute Reshapes the Binding Properties of Its Nucleic Acid Guides" has been selected by the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society awards committee as the OTS paper of the year for the period June 2015-June 2016. Paper of the Year award is to honor the most impactful paper in the field of oligonucleotide therapeutics. Formal presentation of the award will be at the OTS Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada this year.
JULY 26, 2016 Dr. Anastasia Khvorova, Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, awarded R01. The Khvorova lab received a five-year R01 grant from NIH/NICHD to study "Development of RNAi based sFLT1-targeting therapeutics for treatment of Preeclampsia".
JULY 19, 2016 New publication from the Korostelev lab. Ribosome•RelA structures reveal the mechanism of stringent response activation. Loveland AB, Bah E, Madireddy R, Zhang Y, Brilot AF, Grigorieff N, Korostelev AA. Elife. 2016 Jul 19;5. pii: e17029. doi: 10.7554/eLife.17029. PMID: 27434674
JUNE 6, 2016 Bruno Godinho, PhD, awarded a Milton Safenowitz Post Doctoral Fellowship. Dr Bruno Godinho in the Khvorova lab was selected by The ALS Association for his research project "Silencing mutant SOD1 and C9orf72 in vivo using innovative hydrophobic siRNA scaffolds: a novel therapeutic path for the treatment of ALS". He will be supported for two years.
MAY 31, 2016 New publication from the Moore lab. Single molecule analysis reveals reversible and irreversible steps during spliceosome activation. Hoskins AA, Rodgers ML, Friedman LJ, Gelles J, Moore MJ. Elife. 2016 May 31;5. pii: e14166. doi: 10.7554/eLife.14166. PMID: 27244240
MAY 22, 2016 New publication from the Korostelev lab. Structural Basis for Translation Termination on a Pseudouridylated Stop Codon. Svidritskiy E, Madireddy R, Korostelev AA. J Mol Biol. 2016 May 22;428(10 Pt B):2228-36. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.04.018. PMID: 27107638
MAY 12, 2016 Erik Sontheimer, PhD, Professor of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, received a four-year award from NIH/NIGMS to study the "Engineered Cas9 Nucleases with Single-Genomic-Site Precision for CYBB Correction", with co-investigator Scot Wolfe. This award will be used to further the development of high-fidelity CRISPR-derived genome editing platforms that provide single-site precision within the human genome. These platforms will then be used to correct mutations in the cells of patients with chronic granulomatous disease, which often leads to premature death due to immune dysfunction and severe recurrent infections.
MAY 9, 2016 New publication from the Korostelev lab. Ensemble cryo-EM uncovers inchworm-like translocation of a viral IRES through the ribosome. Abeyrathne PD, Koh CS, Grant T, Grigorieff N, Korostelev AA. Elife. 2016 May 9;5. pii: e14874. doi: 10.7554/eLife.14874. PMID: 27159452
APRIL 18, 2016 New publication from the Pedersen lab. Multiplexed labeling of genomic loci with dCas9 and engineered sgRNAs using CRISPRainbow. Ma H, Tu LC, Naseri A, Huisman M, Zhang S, Grunwald D, Pederson T. Nat Biotechnol. 2016 May;34(5):528-30. doi: 10.1038/nbt.3526. Epub 2016 Apr 18. PMID: 27088723
APRIL 11, 2016 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant professor of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, won UMASS Clinical and Translational Science Award (UMCCTS) Pilot Award. The award will support Wen's project "CRISPR-based precision medicine for tyrosinemia" for a year.
APRIL 11, 2016 New publication from the Khvorova lab. A High-Throughput Method for Direct Detection of Therapeutic Oligonucleotide-Induced Gene Silencing In Vivo. Coles AH, Osborn MF, Alterman JF, Turanov AA, Godinho BM, Kennington L, Chase K, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Nucleic Acid Ther. 2016 Apr;26(2):86-92. doi: 10.1089/nat.2015.0578. Epub 2015 Nov 23. PMID: 26595721
APRIL 7, 2016 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant professor of the RNA Therapeutics Institute at UMass Medical School, won research grant from ASC. Wen will use the $791,000 in funds to study KRAS inhibition in lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. For more, please click here.
MARCH 26, 2016 Maire Osborn, PhD, received NIH research fellowship award. Dr. Osborn, a postdoctoral fellow in the Khvorova lab, received a NIH research fellowship award from National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The award will support her for three years on her project titled " Enhancing siRNA delivery and efficacy in the brain through conjugation of bioactive, polyunsaturated fatty acids".
MARCH 19, 2016 New publication from the Aronin lab. Does the Mutant CAG Expansion in Huntingtin mRNA Interfere with Exonucleolytic Cleavage of its First Exon? Liu W, Pfister EL, Kennington LA, Chase KO, Mueller C, DiFiglia M, Aronin N. J Huntingtons Dis. 2016 Mar 19;5(1):33-8. doi: 10.3233/JHD-150183. PMID: 27003665
FEBRUARY 26, 2016 Erik Sontheimer, PhD, Professor of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, elected to Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology The Academy, the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, recognizes excellence, originality, and leadership in the microbiological sciences, election to this group is a mark of distinction.
FEBRUARY 25, 2016 New publication from the Mello lab. The RNase PARN-1 Trims piRNA 3' Ends to Promote Transcriptome Surveillance in C. elegans. Tang W, Tu S, Lee HC, Weng Z, Mello CC. Cell. 2016 Feb 25;164(5):974-84. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.008. PMID: 26919432
FEBRUARY 11, 2016 New publication Redefining the Translational Status of 80S Monosomes. Heyer EE, Moore MJ. Cell. 2016 Feb 11;164(4):757-69. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.003. PMID: 26871635
FEBRUARY 11, 2016 Yan Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Erik Sontheimer's lab has received a NIH Pathway to Independence K99/R00 Award from NIGMS. The project title is "The alternative roles of Neisseria CRISPR-Cas9 in endogenous gene regulation and bacterial physiology". This award is for a period of five years consisting of two phases, with two years being funded for mentored research and three years of funding as an independent investigator.
FEBRUARY 4, 2016 RNA Therapeutics Institute established as an academic department; Phillip D. Zamore, PhD appointed as founding chair UMass Medical School announced today that the RNA Therapeutics Institute (RTI) has been accorded academic department status under the leadership of Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the Gretchen Stone Cook Chair in Biomedical Sciences and professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology, appointed as its founding chair. The RTI was created in June 2009 with four co-directors "charged with the responsibility of creating an innovative, nimble and scientifically rigorous home for RNA research dedicated to human impact". Chancellor Michael F. Collins stated: "They have delivered on this promise, so much so that the maturation of the RTI invites this next step". For more, please click here.
FEBRUARY 1, 2016 David Grunwald, PhD, Assistant Professor of RTI, was featured in Biotechniques for his lab's study on what happens when a single mRNA moves from the cell nucleus to the cytoplasm. For details, please click here.
FEBRUARY 1, 2016 New publication Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant Professor of RTI, is corresponding author of the first study to provide proof that the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system can be administered in a therapeutically applicable formulation to repair genes in live, adult animals. "Therapeutic Genome Editing By Combined Viral and Non-viral Delivery of Crispr System Components in Vivo." Yin, H, Song, C-Q, Dorkin, JR, Zhu, LJ, Li, Y, Wu, Q, Park, A, Yang, J, Suresh, S, Bizhanova, A, Gupta, A, Bolukbasi, MF, Walsh, S, Bogorad, RL, Gao, G, Weng, Z, Dong, Y, Koteliansky, V, Wolfe, SA, Langer, R, Xue, W, Anderson, DG. Nat Biotechnol. 2016 Mar;34(3):328-33. doi: 10.1038/nbt.3471. Epub 2016 Feb 1. PMID: 26829318 For more detail about the news, please click here.
JANUARY 22, 2016 New publication Biogenesis and function of tRNA fragments during sperm maturation and fertilization in mammals. Sharma U, Conine CC, Shea JM, Boskovic A, Derr AG, Bing XY, Belleannee C, Kucukural A, Serra RW, Sun F, Song L, Carone BR, Ricci EP, Li XZ, Fauquier L, Moore MJ, Sullivan R, Mello CC, Garber M, Rando OJ. Science. 2016 Jan 22;351(6271):391-6. doi: 10.1126/science.aad6780. Epub 2015 Dec 31.PMID: 26721685
JANUARY 1, 2016 Marie Didiot, PhD, received fellowship award. Dr. Didiot, a postdoctoral fellow in the Khvorova lab, received a competitive fellowship award from the Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA). She will receive $150,000 over two years for her project titled "Study of the Impact of CAG Repeat Expansion on Htt mRNA Cellular Localization".
DECEMBER 21, 2015 New publication In vivo single-particle imaging of nuclear mRNA export in budding yeast demonstrates an essential role for Mex67p. Smith C, Lari A, Derrer CP, Ouwehand A, Rossouw A, Huisman M, Dange T, Hopman M, Joseph A, Zenklusen D, Weis K, Grunwald D, Montpetit B. J Cell Biol. 2015 Dec 21;211(6):1121-30. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201503135. PMID: 26694837
DECEMBER 1, 2015 New publication Hydrophobically Modified siRNAs Silence Huntingtin mRNA in Primary Neurons and Mouse Brain. Alterman JF, Hall LM, Coles AH, Hassler MR, Didiot MC, Chase K, Abraham J, Sottosanti E, Johnson E, Sapp E, Osborn MF, Difiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2015 Dec 1;4:e266. doi: 10.1038/mtna.2015.38.PMID: 26623938
NOVEMBER 5, 2015 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant Professor of RTI, won The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) Scientific Merit Award, in addition to 2015 LCRF grant. The Scientific Merit Award acknowledges the investigator whose proposal was selected for outstanding overall merit by the Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Xue received the accolade for his research targeting small RNA-mediated KRAS inhibition in lung cancer. For more details, click here.
NOVEMBER 5, 2015 New publication Probability-based particle detection that enables threshold-free and robust in vivo single-molecule tracking. Smith CS, Stallinga S, Lidke KA, Rieger B, Grunwald D. Mol Biol Cell. 2015 Nov 5;26(22):4057-62. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E15-06-0448. Epub 2015 Sep 30. PMID: 26424801
NOVEMBER 3, 2015 New publication Ribosome Structure Reveals Preservation of Active Sites in the Presence of a P-Site Wobble Mismatch. Svidritskiy E, Korostelev AA. Structure. 2015 Nov 3;23(11):2155-61. doi: 10.1016/j.str.2015.08.011. Epub 2015 Sep 24.PMID: 26412335
NOVEMBER 1, 2015 Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, is on The World's
Most Influential Scientific Minds 2014 by Reuters. Phil is one of the researchers who have produced work that is most frequently acknowledged by peers in the field of Molecular Biology & Genetics. These highly cited researchers were determined by analyzing at citation data over the last 11 years to identify those who published the highestimpact work (2002—2012 and 2012—2013). These individuals are influencing the future direction of their fields, and of the world. For details, please click here. For a copy of the report, click here.
OCTOBER 23, 2015 Socheata Ly is selected for Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) program. Soki, a GSBS graduate student in the Khvorova lab is selected by Drs. Brian Lewis and Kate Lapane to paticipate in the IMSD research education grant awarded to UMMS. A primary goal of the IMSD program is to support the development and implementation of strategies that increase the number of underrepresented students that attain PhDs in the biomedical sciences.
OCTOBER 15, 2015 New publication from the Sontheimer lab. DNase H Activity of Neisseria meningitidis Cas9. Zhang Y, Rajan R, Seifert HS, Mondragón A, Sontheimer EJ. Mol Cell. 2015 Oct 15;60(2):242-55. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2015.09.020. PMID: 26474066
OCTOBER 15, 2015 New publication from the Khvorova lab. Guanabenz (Wytensin™) selectively enhances uptake and efficacy of hydrophobically modified siRNAs. Osborn MF, Alterman JF, Nikan M, Cao H, Didiot MC, Hassler MR, Coles AH, Khvorova A. Nucleic Acids Res. 2015 Oct 15;43(18):8664-72. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkv942. Epub 2015 Sep 22. PMID: 26400165
OCTOBER 8, 2015 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, won 2015 Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) philanthropic grant for his project titled " Small RNA-mediated KRAS inhibition in lung cancer". The goal of this project is to investigate mechanisms of tumor regression and relapse upon KRAS inhibition in vivo use small RNA tools. For details, click here.
OCTOBER 7, 2015 New publication Primary processing of CRISPR RNA by the endonuclease Cas6 in Staphylococcus epidermidis. Wakefield N, Rajan R, Sontheimer EJ. FEBS Lett. 2015 Oct 7;589(20 Pt B):3197-204. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2015.09.005. Epub 2015 Sep 10. PMID: 26364721
OCTOBER 1, 2015 New publication Influenza A virus preferentially snatches noncoding RNA caps. Gu W, Gallagher GR, Dai W, Liu P, Li R, Trombly MI, Gammon DB, Mello CC, Wang JP, Finberg RW. RNA. 2015 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26428694
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 David Grunwald, PhD, Assistant Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute won U01 three year Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. His project titled "Visualizing local and global chromatin architecture, and gene expression in the individual cell by structural (SUSHI) and temporal (3D-SMRT) single molecule imaging" is part of a larger 4D Nucleome initiative with NIH. For more, please click here.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 New publication Tailor: a computational framework for detecting non-templated tailing of small silencing RNAs. Chou MT, Han BW, Hsiao CP, Zamore PD, Weng Z, Hung JH. Nucleic Acids Res. 2015 Sep 30;43(17):e109. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkv537. Epub 2015 May 24. PMID: 26007652
SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 New publication Safety of Striatal Infusion of siRNA in a Transgenic Huntington's Disease Mouse Model. Johnson E, Chase K, McGowan S, Mondo E, Pfister E, Mick E, Friedline RH, Kim JK, Sapp E, DiFiglia M, Aronin N. J Huntingtons Dis. 2015;4(3):219-29. doi: 10.3233/JHD-150163.PMID: 26444021
SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 New publication Primary processing of CRISPR RNA by the endonuclease Cas6 in Staphylococcus epidermidis. Wakefield N, Rajan R, Sontheimer EJ. FEBS Lett. 2015 Sep 10. pii: S0014-5793(15)00822-4. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2015.09.005. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26364721
SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 New publication Caenorhabditis elegans ALG-1 antimorphic mutations uncover functions for Argonaute in microRNA guide strand selection and passenger strand disposal. Zinovyeva AY, Veksler-Lublinsky I, Vashisht AA, Wohlschlegel JA, Ambros VR. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Sep 8. pii: 201506576. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26351692
SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 New publication Slicing and Binding by Ago3 or Aub Trigger Piwi-Bound piRNA Production by Distinct Mechanism Wang W, Han BW, Tipping C, Ge DT, Zhang Z, Weng Z, Zamore PD. Mol Cell. 2015 Sep 3;59(5):819-30. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.08.007. PMID: 26340424
AUGUST 13, 2015 Gina V. Caldas, PhD, named 2015 Damon Runyon Fellow. Dr. Gina Caldas, a postdoctoral fellow in the Mello lab, is among the 16 new 2015 Damon Runyon Fellows. The recipients of this prestigious, four-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. Gina was also a 2015 Pew Latin American Fellow in Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Gina is working on identifying new aspects of cell division control that can be targeted for cancer therapy using C. elegans as a model system. For more details, click here.
AUGUST 1, 2015 Jonathan K Watts PhD joins RTI. Dr. Watts joins us from University of Southhampton of UK. His lab will focus on developing molecules that mimic natural nucleic acids but with a number of distinct properties, like reversibly and repeatedly respond to light, or selective targeting of nucleic acid species such as nuclear noncoding RNA and chromosomal DNA. His lab will also work on the development of tools and methods to study cellular nucleic acids.
JULY 15, 2015 New publication Adenovirus-Mediated Somatic Genome Editing of Pten by CRISPR/Cas9 in Mouse Liver in Spite of Cas9-Specific Immune Responses. Wang D, Mou H, Li S, Li Y, Hough S, Tran K, Li J, Yin H, Anderson DG, Sontheimer EJ, Weng Z, Gao G, Xue W. Hum Gene Ther. 2015 Jul;26(7):432-42. doi: 10.1089/hum.2015.087. PMID: 26086867
JULY 13, 2015 Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, received prestigious MERIT awards from NIH. Phil and another researcher have received Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) awards from the National Institutes of Health for their ability to demonstrate "superior competence and productivity during their previous endeavors" and for being "likely to continue to perform in an outstanding manner in the future," according to the NIH. This is the second MERIT award for Dr. Phil Zamore.
JULY 6, 2015 New publication POS-1 Promotes Endo-mesoderm Development by Inhibiting the Cytoplasmic Polyadenylation of neg-1 mRNA. Elewa A, Shirayama M, Kaymak E, Harrison PF, Powell DR, Du Z, Chute CD, Woolf H, Yi D, Ishidate T, Srinivasan J, Bao Z, Beilharz TH, Ryder SP, Mello CC. Dev Cell. 2015 Jul 6;34(1):108-18. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2015.05.024. Epub 2015 Jun 18. PMID: 26096734
JULY 2, 2015 New publication Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals that Argonaute Reshapes the Binding Properties of Its Nucleic Acid Guides. Salomon WE, Jolly SM, Moore MJ, Zamore PD, Serebrov V. Cell. 2015 Jul 2;162(1):84-95. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.06.029. PMID: 26140592
JUNE 1, 2015 New publication A versatile reporter system for CRISPR-mediated chromosomal rearrangements. Li Y, Park A, Mou H, Colpan C, Bizhanova A, Akama-Garren E, Joshi N, Hendrickson EA, Feldser D, Yin H, Anderson DG, Jacks T, Weng Z, Xue W. Genome Biol. 2015 May 28;16(1):111. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26018130
MAY 29, 2015 Bo Han won Chacellor's Award. Bo Han, a graduating PhD student in the Zamore lab was recognized for his academic achievement with the UMMS Chancellor's Award. He worked on "Using experimental and computational strategies to understand the biogenesis of microRNAs and piRNAs" and recently published on Science. For details, click here.
MAY 25, 2015 New publication Nuclear accessibility of β-actin mRNA is measured by 3D single-molecule real-time tracking. Smith CS, Preibisch S, Joseph A, Abrahamsson S, Rieger B, Myers E, Singer RH, Grunwald D. J Cell Biol. 2015 May 25;209(4):609-19. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201411032. PMID: 26008747
MAY 15, 2015 New publication Noncoding RNA. piRNA-guided transposon cleavage initiates Zucchini-dependent, phased piRNA production. Han BW, Wang W, Li C, Weng Z, Zamore PD. Science. 2015 May 15;348(6236):817-21. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa1264. PMID: 25977554
MAY 5, 2015 New publication Caenorhabditis elegans microRNAs of the let-7 family act in innate immune response circuits and confer robust developmental timing against pathogen stress. Ren Z, Ambros VR. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 May 5;112(18):E2366-75. doi:10.1073/pnas.1422858112. Epub 2015 Apr 20. PMID: 25897023
APRIL 28, 2015 Craig C. Mello, PhD, Nobel Laureate and co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, talks about CRISPER on WBUR's On Point Radio. For details, click here.
APRIL 23, 2015 Wen Tang, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Craig Mello's lab, is a 2015 recipient of Hope Funds for Cancer Research Postdocotral Fellowship. This will be a three-year fellowship to support Dr. Wen Tang's research. The Hope Funds for Cancer Research is offering fellowships to postdoctoral scientists who propose to work on highly innovative research projects that challenge the traditional paradigms of understanding the causes, mechanisms, progression, disease markers or risk factors of the most difficult-to-treat cancers.
APRIL 14, 2015 Wen Xue, PhD, Assistant Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute won 2015 Worcester Foundation Grants for his project titled "Liver cancer gene discovery and correction using CRISPR-mediated genome editing". Worcester Foundation grants are to be awarded to investigators at the Medical School in support of promising and innovative research projects.
APRIL 14, 2015 New publication Assessing long-distance RNA sequence connectivity via RNA-templated DNA-DNA ligation. Roy CK, Olson S, Graveley BR, Zamore PD, Moore MJ. Elife. 2015 Apr 13;4. doi: 10.7554/eLife.03700. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25866926
MARCH 25, 2015 Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, received NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant (S10). Anastasia's project titled "Mid-Scale RNA Synthesis, Purification and Quality Control System" will be funded for over half million dollars to help purchasing a series of equipment for the chemistry core.
JANUARY 29, 2015 New publication A ribonuclease coordinates siRNA amplification and mRNA cleavage during RNAi. Tsai HY, Chen CC, Conte D Jr, Moresco JJ, Chaves DA, Mitani S, Yates JR 3rd, Tsai MD, Mello CC. Cell. 2015 Jan 29;160(3):407-19. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.01.010.
JANUARY 20, 2015 New publication Control of stem cell self-renewal and differentiation by the heterochronic genes and the cellular asymmetry machinery in Caenorhabditis elegans. Harandi OF, Ambros VR. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Jan 20;112(3):E287-96. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1422852112. PMID: 25561544
JANUARY 12, 2015 Dr. Craig C. Mello, Nobel Laureate and co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute will be in the You're the Expert comedy show Thursday, January 15th. This show, presented by the WBUR iLab, is trying to bridge the worlds of comedy and academia, and let people understand the importance of the expert's field of study while having fun. For detail, please click here.
JANUARY 7, 2015 Molecular Cell cover features new study from Zamore lab. The study provides new insights into the biochemical mechanisms governing how piRNAs target select genetic elements for silencing. The Initial Uridine of Primary piRNAs Does Not Create the Tenth Adenine that Is the Hallmark of Secondary piRNAs. Wang W, Yoshikawa M, Han BW, Izumi N, Tomari Y, Weng Z, Zamore PD. Mol Cell. 2014 Dec 4;56(5):708-16. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2014.10.016. Epub 2014 Nov 20. PMID: 25453759 [PubMed - in process]
JANUARY 7, 2015 Jeremy Luban, MD, RTI affiliated faculty, receives National Human Genome Research Institute grant to develop model for predicting gene expression in human dendritic cells. Dr. Luban and Manuel Garber, PhD, another faculty at UMMS, will be principal investigators on a three-year, $6.1 million grant to develop a model for predicting whether a given gene will be turned on or off under specific conditions. For details, click here.
DECEMBER 16, 2014 Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, was elected to NAI Fellow status. Election to National Academy of Inventors Fellow status is a high profession distinction accorded to academic inventors who demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society. For details, please click here.
DECEMBER 12, 2014 New publication An Optimized Kit-free Method for Making Strand-specific Deep Sequencing Libraries From RNA Fragments. Heyer EE, Ozadam H, Ricci EP, Cenik C, and Moore MJ. Nucleic Acids Res. published 12 December 2014, 10.1093/nar/gku1235
NOVEMBER 12, 2014 Victor Ambros, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, won 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Victor Ambros and his long-time collaborator Gary Ruvkun, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, have each been awarded a 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their co-discovery of a class of tiny RNA molecules that inhibit translation or destabilize complementary mRNA targets. Each received a $3 million award. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences honors transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life. For details, please click here.
OCTOBER 29, 2014 Craig Mello, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, talks about the need for the region's life sciences industry to work together in Worcester Telegram & Gazette. For details, click here.
OCTOBER 17, 2014 New publication piPipes: a set of pipelines for piRNA and transposon analysis via small RNA-seq, RNA-seq, degradome- and CAGE-seq, ChIP-seq and genomic DNA sequencing. Han, BW, Wang, W, Zamore, PD, and Weng, Z. Bioinformatics. published 17 October 2014, 10.1093/bioinformatics/btu647
OCTOBER 16, 2014, Juahdi Monbo won 2014 ASCB MAC Travel Award. Juahdi Monbo, a graduate student in David Grunwald's lab, has been selected to receive a MAC Travel Award to attend the ASCB/IFCB Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, December 6-10. For details, please click here.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2014 Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, was recently featured on Nature Biotechnology. The journal interviewed him for his experience on starting up Alnylam and Voyager, two biotech companies using RNAi and gene therapy, and his insight on the commercialization of RNAi. For details, click here.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 New publications Small RNA Combination Therapy for Lung Cancer. Xue W, Dahlman JE, Tammela T, Khan OF, Sood S, Dave A, Cai W, Chirino LM, Yang GR, Bronson R, Crowley DG, Sahay G, Schroeder A, Langer R, Anderson DG, Jacks T. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Aug 26;111(34):E3553-61. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1412686111. Epub 2014 Aug 11. CRISPR-mediated direct mutation of cancer genes in the mouse liver. Xue W, Chen S, Yin H, Tammela T, Papagiannakopoulos T, Joshi NS, Cai W, Yang G, Bronson R, Crowley DG, Zhang F, Anderson DG, Sharp PA, Jacks T. Nature. 2014 Oct 16;514(7522):380-4. doi: 10.1038/nature13589. Epub 2014 Aug 6. PMID:25119044
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 New publication Circulating microRNA profiles in human patients with acetaminophen hepatotoxicity or ischemic hepatitis. Ward J, Kanchagar C, Veksler-Lublinsky I, Lee RC, McGill MR, Jaeschke H, Curry SC, Ambros VR. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Aug 19;111(33):12169-74. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1412608111. Epub 2014 Aug 4.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 Wen Xue PhD joins RTI Dr. Wen Xue will be joining us here in the RTI as an Assistant Professor. Wen earned his Ph.D. with Scott Lowe at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories and did post-doctoral studies with Tyler Jacks at MIT. Wen studies the role of microRNAs in cancer using mouser models. He has just received an R00 award from the NIH! The R00 program supports young investigators as they transition from post-doc to independent faculty.
AUGUST 26, 2014 Dr. Heng-Chi Lee, a post-doc in the Mello lab, has received a K99 award from the NIH. The K99 grant is the post-doctoral component of the K99/R00 program and supports the post-doctoral studies of talented young scientists as they work toward independence.
AUGUST 25, 2014 Dr. Anastasia Khvorova received a four-year award from NIH/NIGMS to study the "Inter and intra-cellular trafficking pathways for natural and therapeutic RNAs", with co-investigators Victor Ambros, Sylvia Corvera, and Kevin Fogarty. The project will use a combination of RNA medicinal chemistry, TIRF microscopy and quantitative mass-spectrometry to map uptake pathways for different classes of therapeutic oligonucleotides, identify and characterize mechanism of small regulatory RNS cell and transfer, and deliver the conceptual framework necessary to generate novel RNS chemistries that exploit natural uptake mechanisms leading to transformational improvements in oligonucleotide therapeutics field.
AUGUST 15, 2014 New publication SPO24 is a transcriptionally dynamic, small ORF-encoding locus required for efficient sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Hurtado S, Kim Guisbert KS, Sontheimer EJ. PLoS One. 2014 Aug 15;9(8):e105058. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105058. eCollection 2014. PMID: 25127041
JULY 31, 2014 Erik Sontheimer PhD joins RTI Dr. Erik Sontheimer joins us from Northwestern University. The Sontheimer laboratory focuses on the roles of RNA molecules in gene expression, with an emphasis on genetic interference pathways. Using biochemical approaches to characterize the function of the RNAi machinery, Dr. Sontheimer's research has yielded fundamental insights into the biochemical mechanism of RNAi and the pathway by which the RNAi machinery assembles on a double-stranded RNA. His research has recently expanded into a distinct interference pathway specified by CRISPR loci that limits the spread of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria.
JULY 23, 2014 New publication An efficient and sensitive method for preparing cDNA libraries from scarce biological samples. Catherine H. Sterling, Isana Veksler-Lublinksy, and Victor Ambros Nucleic Acids Res. published 23 July 2014, 10.1093/nar/gku637 [Abstract]
JULY 2, 2014 Two RNA Therapeutics Insititute faculties won 2014 UMass Life Science Moment Fund (LSMF) in one day. Anastasia Khvorova, Ph.D., with project "Ex vivo RNAi-based therapy for modulating T cell response as a novel treatment for Graft-vs-Host Disease", and Neil Aronin, Ph.D., in conjunction with Dr. Michael Brodsky (Program in Gene Function and Expression) and Dr. Gregory Tew (UMass Amherst), with project "CRISPR- Cas9-derived Nucleases and PTDMs for Huntingtin Disease Treatment", were selected for funding by the 2014 UMass Life Science Moment Fund (LSMF). The two projects will bring together investigators from both the Worcester and Amherst campuses.
JUNE 27, 2014 Craig C. Mello, PhD, Nobel Laureate and co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, talks to National Public Radio about the exciting future of CRISPR. He believes medical applications using the genome-engineering tool known as CRISPR are possible in the near future, he said in an interview with National Public Radio science reporter Joe Palca. For details, click here.
JUNE 25, 2014 New publication A single vertebrate DNA virus protein disarms invertebrate immunity to RNA virus infection. Don B Gammon, Sophie Duraffour, Daniel K Rozelle, Heidi Hehnly, Rita Sharma, Michael E Sparks, Cara C West, Ying Chen, James J Moresco, Graciela Andrei, John C Connor, Darryl Conte, Dawn E Gundersen-Rindal, William L Marshall, John Yates, Neal Silverman, and Craig C Mello eLife Sci. published 25 June 2014, 10.7554/eLife.02910
JUNE 17, 2014 Victor R. Ambros, PhD, the Silverman Chair In Natural Sciences and co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, has been awarded the 2014 Gruber Genetics Prize. Dr. Ambros, along with long time collaborator Gary Ruvkun, PhD, professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and David Baulcombe, PhD, professor of botany at the University of Cambridge, received the prize for their pioneering discoveries of the existence and function of microRNAs and small interfering RNAs, molecules that are now known to play a critical role in gene expression. Please join us in congratulating him on this tremendous honor! For details, click here.
JUNE 11, 2014 New publication Structural mechanism is revealed of how the messenger RNA of Taura syndrome virus hijacks host ribosomes using structured RNA, called internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Koh, C. S., Brilot, A. F., Grigorieff, N., & Korostelev, A. A. (2014). Taura syndrome virus IRES initiates translation by binding its tRNA-mRNA–like structural element in the ribosomal decoding center. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1406335111
JUNE 10, 2014 David Grunwald, PhD, Assistant Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute won Faculty Scholar Award (FSA). The Faculty Scholar Award was created by the UMMS Women's Faculty Committee and the Women's Leadership Work Group, and is funded jointly by UMMS and UMMHC to assist faculty during a finite period of increased family care responsibilities. Dr. Grunwald was selected as a recipient of the award for June 2014 due to the innovation and technical challenges of his project across many disciplines.
JUNE 4, 2014 Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, Professor of RNA Therapeutics Institute, is featured in Exiqon Application stories. Khvorova lab focuses on the development of novel oligonucleotide-based therapeutics, as well ways to improve delivery and tissue distribution for neurodegenerative diseases. Her lab has been using LNA™ GapmeRs to successfully silence two different genes, which are valid therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases, both in vitro and in vivo mouse and rat animal models. To read about her exciting research, click here.
MAY 30, 2014 New publication A Co-CRISPR Strategy for Efficient Genome Editing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Heesun Kim, Takao Ishidate, Krishna S. Ghanta, Meetu Seth, Darryl Conte, Jr., Masaki Shirayama, and Craig C. Mello Genetics. published 30 May 2014, 10.1534/genetics.114.166389
APRIL 8, 2014 New publication The Vasa Homolog RDE-12 Engages Target mRNA and Multiple Argonaute Proteins to Promote RNAi in C. elegans. Masaki Shirayama, William Stanney III, Weifeng Gu, Meetu Seth, Craig C. Mello Curr Biol. 2014 Mar 26. pii: S0960-9822(14)00267-X. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.008. [Epub ahead of print].
APRIL 7, 2014 Gang Han, PhD, RTI affiliated faculty, was awarded 2014 Young Investigator's Grant from Human Frontier Science Program. The HFSP supports novel, innovative and interdisciplinary basic research focused on the complex mechanisms of living organisms. The grant will support Han lab's project on "Wireless optogenetic interrogation of non-image forming photoreceptor function by Nano-antennae" for three years and about $900,000 in total. For details, click here.
MARCH 14,2014 Melissa Moore PhD and Anastasia Khvorova PhD are among the founders of MassTERi. The Massachusetts Therapeutic and Entrepreneurial Realization Initiative (MassTERi), is a faculty-led initiative that will build upon existing efforts at the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS) and other university organizations to support scientists who are interested in advancing development of small molecule drugs and in commercializing their innovation. More...
MARCH 14, 2014 Colin Conine, PhD candidate in Dr. Craig Mello's lab, has been awarded the 2014 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award. This prestigious award is sponsored by the Basic Sciences Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Nominations were solicited internationally; the winners were selected on the basis of the quality, originality and significance of their work. More…
FEBRUARY 25, 2014 Jeremy Luban, MD, David L. Freelander Memorial Professor in HIV/AIDS Research and RNA Therapeutics Institute affiliated faculty, has been elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology for his scientific achievement and original contributions to the field of microbiology. More...
FEBRUARY 18, 2014 Phillip Zamore, PhD, is co-principal investigator of a Broadening Experience in Scientific Training (BEST) grant from the NIH. UMass is the first group of 10 graduate schools nationwide to be awarded. With the grant, Zamore and Cynthia Fuhrmann, PhD, assistant dean of professional and career development for the GSBS, will implement "An Integrated Curriculum and Community-Based Approach to Career Development" which will guide students and postdocs to create and implement a strategic plan for building the skills and experience needed to reach their career objectives. More…
FEBRUARY 12, 2014 Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, and Guangping Gao, PhD, director of the Gene Therapy Center and RTI affiliated faculty, are among the four world leaders in the fields of AAV gene therapy, RNA biology and neuroscience to launch Voyager Therapeutics today. Voyager Therapeutics is a gene therapy company to develop life-changing treatments for fatal and debilitating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). More...
FEBRUARY 6, 2014 Kelly Limoncelli received Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral Fellows from NIH. Kelly Limoncell, a graduate student in Melissa Moore's lab, will receive up to 4 years of support, which covers stipend, tuition, fees, supplies, and scientific meeting expenses. The purpose of this training fellowship is to provide support for promising doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) during the tenure of the award. Her project title is "Investigating the functional roles of RPS3 in RNA and DNA damage". For details, click here.
FEBRUARY 3, 2014 New publication Inorganic phosphate blocks binding of pre-miRNA to Dicer-2 via its PAZ domain Ryuya Fukunaga, Cansu Colpan, Bo W Han, and Phillip D Zamore EMBO J. published 31 January 2014, 10.1002/embj.201387176 [Abstract].
JANUARY 21, 2014 Victor R. Ambros is awarded prestigious Wolf Prize in Medicine for the discovery of the micro- RNA molecules that play a key role in controlling gene expression in natural processes and disease development. For details, click here.
JANUARY 17, 2014 New publication Endogenous U2·U5·U6 snRNA complexes in S. pombe are intron lariat spliceosomes Weijun Chen, Hennady P. Shulha, Ami Ashar-Patel, Jing Yan, Karin M. Green, Charles C. Query, Nick Rhind, Zhiping Weng, and Melissa J. Moore RNA. published 17 January 2014, 10.1261/rna.040980.113 [Abstract].
DECEMBER 10, 2013 Rene Maehr, PhD, became an RTI affiliated faculty. His group works on pluripotent stem cell-based models of immune deficiencies and autoimmunity and has an exciting publication recently. Kearns NA, Genga RM, Enuameh MS, Garber M, Wolfe SA, Maehr R.Cas9 effector-mediated regulation of transcription and differentiation in human pluripotent stem cells. Development. 2014 Jan;141(1):219-223.
OCTOBER 28, 2013 Gang Han, PhD, awarded EUREKA R01. With a perfect impact score (10) Han lab received EUREKA (Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) RO1 grant from the National Institute of Health to develop light activated nanoparticles to form the basis of a new wireless "optogenetic" tool that promises to help map and decode previously inaccessible neural circuitry deep in the brain. For details, click here.
OCTOBER 8, 2013 Joerg Braun won Karl Lohmann Award from Germany. Dr. Joerg E. Braun, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Melissa Moore's laboratory, is awarded the 2013 Karl Lohmann Award from The Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) for his doctoral research in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Karl Lohmann Award is conferred every second year to reward young researchers under 35 years of age. For details, click here.
OCTOBER 4, 2013 Phillip Zamore, codirector of the RNA Therapeutics Institute shares his experience on childcare and his strong belief on work family balance in The Boston Globe. For full article, click here.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2013 Victor R. Ambros is awarded Keio Medical Science Prize. The 18th Keio Medical Science Prize has been awarded to Victor R. Ambros, PhD, the Silverman Chair in Natural Science. Keio University in Japan annually awards the Keio Medical Science Prize "to recognize researchers who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of medicine or life sciences." For more details, click here.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2013 Neil Aronin, MD, awarded grant from collaborative NIH Extracellular RNA Communication program. He will explore the Clinincal Utility of Extracellular RNA for Therapy Development focusing on Huntington's disease. For more details about his project and other UMass awardees, click here.
AUGUST 19, 2013 Two RTI graduate students awarded prestigious HHMI awards. Haleen Saini, who is a 3rd year Neuroscience Program student in Dr. Melissa Moore's laboratory and, Meetu Seth, a 4th year Interdisciplinary Graduate Program student in Dr. Craig Mello's laboratory were among only 42 awardees across the nation for HHMI 2013 International Student Research Fellowships. Both students will receive up to three years of stipend, fees and research supports.
AUGUST 8, 2013 New publication ASPeak: an abundance sensitive peak detection algorithm for RIP-Seq Alper Kucukural, Hakan Özadam, Guramrit Singh, Melissa J. Moore, and Can Cenik Bioinformatics. published 8 August 2013, 10.1093/bioinformatics/btt428 [Abstract].
AUGUST 1, 2013 New publication Long Noncoding RNA Mediates Both Activation and Repression of Immune Response Genes Susan Carpenter, Maninjay Atianand, Daniel Aiello, Emiliano P. Ricci, Pallavi Gandhi, Lisa L. Hall, Meg Byron, Brian Monks, Meabh Henry-Bezy, Jeanne B. Lawrence, Luke A. J. O'Neill, Melissa J. Moore, Daniel R. Caffrey, and Katherine A. Fitzgerald Science. published 1 August 2013, 10.1126/science.1240925 [Abstract].
AUGUST 1, 2013 Andrei Korostelev, PhD, awarded R01. The Korostelev lab received a five-year R01 award from the NIH to study "Structural bases for cellular stress responses mediated by stalled translation". The project aims at understanding the molecular mechanisms that result in high pathogenicity of bacteria; elucidation of these mechanisms may lead to development of novel antibiotics.
JULY 3, 2013 New publication from Andrei Korostelev's lab in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The article describes a novel mode of action of an inhibitor of translation. Korostelev lab, in collaboration with the Ermolenko lab (University of Rochester), has found that blasticidin S strongly inhibits translation termination by trapping a distorted conformation of tRNA on the ribosome. This finding may serve as a platform for the development of therapeutics that specifically suppress translation termination in human diseases associated with premature termination codons. Svidritskiy E., Ling C., Ermolenko D. N. and Korostelev A. A. "Blasticidin S inhibits translation by trapping deformed tRNA on the ribosome". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. July 2013.
JUNE 6, 2013 Joerg Braun awarded Otto Hahn Medal. Joerg E.Braun, a postdoctoral associate in Melissa Moore's lab, was awarded Otto Hahn Medal for his outstanding PhD work. The Otto Hahn Medals were awarded at the Annual Meeting of the Max Planck Society in Potsdam, Germany, on June 5 and 6. Since 1978, a few young and especially highly gifted researchers are awarded the Otto Hahn Medal each year – for their outstanding PhD work and to motivate them for a future scientific career. More...
JUNE 1, 2013 Joerg Braun awarded Human Frontier Science Program Organization Fellowship. Joerg Braun, a postdoctoral associate in Melissa Moore's lab, was awarded a fellowship for his project "Single molecule analysis of the mammalian alternative pre-mRNA splicing". This three year award will support Dr. Braun's work dissecting the dynamics of human spliceosome assembly.
MAY 20, 2013 Phillip Zamore and Keith Boundy receive Umass Medical School Office of Globe Health Award. Phillip Zamore, PhD and Keith Bounty, Resident Physician and PhD Student, receive UMass Medical School Office of Global Health award to study antiviral RNA interference in Aedes aegypti mosquitos collected at the joint US/Thai Armed Forces Medical Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) in Bangkok, Thailand.
MAY 15, 2013 – Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research signs Research Agreement.
Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, Victor Ambros, PhD, and Silvia Corvera, MD have signed an agreement with David Morrissey, PhD and Novartis for a collaborative project titled "Inter and intra-cellular trafficking pathways for natural and therapeutic oligonucleotides". This three year agreement will support research activities in the lab and share knowledge in the areas of exosome preparation and quality control, and oligonucleotide synthesis.
MAY 13, 2013 Victor Ambros is recently profiled in JCB (Journal of Cell Biology), "Victor Ambros: The broad scope of microRNAs" For full article, click here
APRIL 1, 2013 Andrei A Korostelev receives UMass Center for Clinical & Translational Science (UMCCTS) Award for his project, Novel Therapeutic Routes against Premature - Termination Disease.
MARCH 2013 New Molecular Cell publication from Phil Zamore's Lab:
Li, X. Z., Roy, C. K., Dong, X., Bolcun-Filas, E., Wang, J., Han, B. W., Xu, J., Moore, M. J., Schimenti, J. C., Weng, Z., and Zamore, P. D. (2013). An Ancient Transcription Factor Initiates the Burst of piRNA Production during Early Meiosis in Mouse Testes. Mol Cell 50, 67-81.
JANUARY 30, 2013 Craig Mello, at opening of Albert Sherman Center, "The world will remember what we do here.." For full article, click here
JANUARY 1, 2013 EMBO Fellowship for Joerg Braun
Postdoctoral associate Joerg Braun, in the Moore Lab, was awarded an EMBO Long-Term fellowship for his proposal "Single molecule analysis of mammalian spliceosome assembly." This fellowship will support Joerg's work on the molecular mechanism of alternative splcing of pre-mRNAs. Alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs allows the synthesis of multiple proteins from a single gene and is considered as a critical source of complexity in higher eukaryotes, especially in mammals. Joerg is studying the mechanism of splicing in mammals with single molecule techniques in collaboration with the Gelles laboratory at Brandeis University. His work aims to improve our understanding of the regulation of human gene expression and pave the way to address diseases caused by aberrant spicing.
DECEMBER 2012 Paper from Han Lab featured in Nanotech News of National Cancer Institute
"Nanoparticles Glow through Thick Layer of Tissue" An international research team has created unique photoluminescent nanoparticles that shine clearly through more than three centimeters, or more than an inch, of biological tissue, a depth that makes them a promising tool for deep-tissue optical bioimaging. For full article, click here
DECEMBER 17, 2012 News from the Luban Lab
Though retroviruses like HIV are best known as the cause of diseases such as AIDS, a huge portion of the human genome consists of fossil remnants of retrovirus infection from millions of years ago. The Luban Lab has discovered that one of these so-called endogenous retroviruses generates RNA that is likely to be essential for human pluripotent stem cells. Ongoing work at UMass to understand the role of this endogenous retrovirus in stem cells will aid attempts to harness stem cells for therapies of a wide-range of human diseases.
DECEMBER 10, 2012 David Grunwald PhD receives CFAR development grant
DECEMBER 3, 2012 Anastasia Khvorova PhD joins RTI
Dr. Khvorova brings outstanding accomplishment and innovation as a team leader and chief science officer with major oligonucleotide reagent and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Khvorova's lab will focus on the development of novel oligonucleotide-based therapeutics and drug development; mechanism of small RNA trafficking; RNA medicinal chemistry and delivery.
NOVEMBER 1, 2012 RNA silencing to treat Huntington's disease
Two UMass Medical School researchers report on promising new developments in the quest for a treatment for Huntington's disease in the Thursday, Nov. 1, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. More...
OCTOBER 17, 2012 UMMS, Carnegie Institute receive U.S. patent for RNAi
Discovery by Mello, Fire holds the promise of shutting down disease-causing genes in humans. More...
JUNE 19, 2012 Victor R. Ambros PhD receives Janssen Award for Biomedical Research
With collaborator Gary B. Ruvkun PhD, of Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the two were awarded the 2012 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research today by Johnson & Johnson for their co-discovery of microRNA (also known as miRNA), tiny molecules that are now understood to play a powerful role in gene expression and regulation. For the full article click here
MAY 15, 2012 David Grunwald PhD joins RTI Dr. David Grunwald has decided to join the RTI faculty. He started his own group two years ago at the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands. Dr. Gruenwald's lab is working on the interface between microscopy development and (nuclear) cell biology, with a strong focus on the travels of mRNA and nucleocytoplasmic transport. Observing the functions of individual molecules within high resolution spatial topographies with millisecond dynamics adds a unique perspective on the function of the living cell. Dr. Grunwald will move his lab to the new Albert Sherman building in early 2013.
MAY 1, 2012 Jane Freedman PhD one of two sites chosen for Translational Research Centers in Thrombotic and Hemostatic Disorders clinical studies using miRNA/mRNA.
This NIH U54 award will utilize multiple technologies and screening of an early-phase translation mRNA nanochip in humans with metabolic syndromes and determine the impact on thrombosis. Jane Freedman, MD, Director Translational Research Professor in Medicine, was awarded $3,355,400 to complete 3 clinical and translational studies over five years examining the role of mRNA and miRNA in obesity and weight loss and cardiovascular disease.
MARCH 4, 2012 Potential therapy for dyslipidemia & other diseases caused by miRNA deregulation. Long-term, efficient inhibition of microRNA function in mice using rAAV vectors. Xie J, Ameres SL,Friedline R, Hung JH, Zhang Y, Xie Q, Zhong L, Su Q, He R, Li M, Li H, Mu X, Zhang H, Broderick JA, Kim JK, Weng Z, Flotte TR, Zamore PD, Gao G. Nat Methods. 2012 Mar 4;9(4):403-9
JULY 18, 2011 Investiture Melissa Moore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology, was invested as the Eleanor Eustis Farrington Chair in Cancer Research.
APRIL 27, 2011 Melissa Moore PhD win Gates Foundation grant
Grand Challenge Exploration grant was awarded to Melissa J. Moore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Eleanor Eustis Farrington Chair of Cancer Research, professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology to pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled "siRNA-based Therapeutics for Preeclampsia."
APRIL 19, 2011 RNAi-Based Therapeutic Review is published
RNAi-based therapeutic strategies for metabolic diseases
Michael P. Czech, Myriam Aouadi and Gregory J. Tesz Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 7, 473–484 (2011)
MARCH 21, 2011 Encapsulation technology for potential RNAi therapeutics
Glucan particles for selective delivery of siRNA to phagocytic cells in mice
Gregory J. Tesz1, Myriam Aouadi1, Matthieu Prot, Sarah M. Nicoloro, Emilie Boutet, Shinya U. Amano, Anca Goller, Mengxi Wang, Chang‑An Guo, William E. Salomon, Joseph V. Virbasius, Rebecca A. Baum, Mark J. O'Connor, Ernesto Soto, Gary R. Ostroff and Michael P. Czech2 Biochem. J. (2011) 436, 351–362
MARCH 19, 2011 Gene Therapy Center a step closer to treating Central Nervous System disorders. MicroRNA-regulated, systemically delivered rAAV9: a step closer to CNS-restricted transgene expression. Xie J, Xie Q, Zhang H, Ameres SL, Hung JH, Su Q, He R, Mu X, Seher Ahmed S, Park S, Kato H, Li C, Mueller C, Mello CC, Weng Z, Flotte TR, Zamore PD, Gao G.Mol Ther. 2011 Mar;19(3):526-35.
JANUARY 2011 UMass Medical School and Lundbeck Inc. announce collaboration Neil Aronin, MD, professor in medicine and cell biology, announced a research collaboration aimed at further development of a targeted therapy to slow or halt the progression of Huntington's disease using RNAi.
NOVEMBER 2010 Move Date is Announced
The RNA Therapeutic Institute is happy to announce it will be moving into the newly built Albert Sherman Center in March of 2013. To learn more about this exciting move and to see the RTI floor plan, click here.
OCTOBER 2010 UMMS Faculty Become Affiliates Of The RTI
The Directors of the RTI reached out around the UMMS campus to a vast variety of MD's and PhD's to begin building a team of outstanding researchers with specific interests and skills to have daily operational contact, in hopes to investigate ways to create new therapies that can be moved from the bench top to the bedside.
JULY 2010 RTI hires first Recruit
Andrei Korostelev PhD, has joined us from the University of California Santa Cruz, where he studied bacterial translation in the lab of Harry F. Noller. Dr. Korostelev will study translation and translation regulation in bacteria and eukaryotes using a combination of X-ray crystallography and biochemistry. Dr. Korostelev lab will be temporally housed in the biochemistry & molecular pharmacology until the RTI moves in 2013.
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.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
classh is yet another wrapper around ssh for running commands on a number of hosts concurrently. It is similar to xCAT, pssh, Cluster ssh, and a gaggle of other utilities. The only pre-requisite for classh is Python 2.4 or later, and no formal installation is required; a copy of the classh.py file is sufficient to run commands. The SSHJobMan class from classh can be used to create custom job management scripts. This class lets you either wait until all output has returned from a batch job or process the results as they become available by incrementally polling the running job. The output, error messages, exit code, and start and completion times of each job are stored in the results. It's been tested on jobs of over 25,000 hosts and handles over 10,000 hosts per hour across a WAN and without noticeable impact on the administrator's host.
|Utilities System Administration Clustering Tools Clustering/Distributed Networks Libraries
|Operating Systems
|Linux Unix Mac OS X
Release Notes: The --sshargs and --sshpath options were added. The default was changed to search the PATH for ssh.
Release Notes: --mergemsgs support was added. It coalesces identical outputs and/or error messages. Support for --progress was added for showing successes, remote errors, and local/SSH errors as they occur in a progress bar. Snooze default handling was fixed in the .wait() method (API).
Release Notes: Incremental results or a progress bar are supported. Custom job management scripts can be written in as little as 3 lines. Hostname arguments support magic files and range expansions. The timeouts and maximum concurrent jobs are configurable.
A Fluent OpenStack client API for Java.
A TWiki appliance that is easy to use and lightweight.


text:
Wed Jan 9, 2013, 06:02 PM
cthulu2016 (10,960 posts)
We all know that parts of Antarctica used to be temperate...
(There are fossils there of plants and animals one would not expect to have ever lived so near the south pole.)
And we also all know that the continents have drifted around a lot. Not everything is located where it used to be.
So 1+1=2... it is natural to assume that Antarctica used to be closer to the equator when it had temperate areas.
But, oddly enough, when Antarctica had temperate zones it was pretty much where it is today.
The (surprising) explanation is that the different shape and location of the other continents, and the size and shape shape of the spaces between them, was such that the circulation of the oceans drove a lot of warm water from the equator down toward the south pole.
There is the question of how warm the Earth is overall, and then the question how that warmth is distributed. The warmth comes from the sun but it primarily distributed by the oceans.
I was reminded of this reading about the unusual cold weather (by UK standards) expected in the UK this week. On a map, the UK is pretty far north. In fact, the souternmost tip of the UK is north of the northernmost tip of the coninental US. But the gulf stream pumps Caribbean water up in their direction, which is why England is more temperate than her latitude would suggest.
5 replies, 1747 views
Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum
Replies to this discussion thread
|5 replies
We all know that parts of Antarctica used to be temperate... (Original post)
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Response to cthulu2016 (Original post)
Wed Jan 9, 2013, 06:08 PM
virgogal (8,374 posts)
1. Gulf stream does a great job on Norway and the fjords also.
Response to cthulu2016 (Original post)
Wed Jan 9, 2013, 06:41 PM
Scootaloo (25,699 posts)
2. You're incorrect
Temperate forests did in fact exist on Antarctica... as recently as three million years ago. That's during the Pliocene. The continents were largely in their present position; the panama isthmus rose during the Pliocene, which made the north Atlantic colder, but Berengia also formed which would have kept arctic waters out of the Pacific, making it relatively warmer.
Antarctica would have had a climate rather like Siberia; the coastal areas are taiga and cold-temperate forests, alpine and tundra further in, probably a cold desert in the middle of the continent. It's reasonable to guess that mammals would have been few and far between; like Australia, most of Antarctica's mammalian fauna would have been marsupials, and they have issues with cold temperatures - but maybe not, maybe there were some polar-adapted marsupials from the Cretaceous forward (the Cretaceous being when Antarctica took the pole)
Forward two point five million years; the world is hit by the ice age cycle. Glaciers creep down Antarctica's mountains. And keep going, and going, and going until the whole continent is glaciated; This is helped by axial tilt, for half the year there is no sun in Antarctica worth mention. What sun there is, is reflected by the ice; this results in a glacial feedback loop that preserves Antarctica's ice cap even as the rest of the world thaws, re-freezes, thaws again...
Antarctica's current coldness isn't the result of ocean currents, it's the result of Antarctica freezing over very recently (geologically), and being unable to un-freeze.
By the way? Screw dinosaurs. I want a time machine to go see those arctic marsupials. or the polar terror-birds... that place must have been crazy... and with the glaciation, probably all fossil records are being ground to dust. Fucking depressing in its way.
Response to Scootaloo (Reply #2)
Wed Jan 9, 2013, 06:43 PM
cthulu2016 (10,960 posts)
4. I'm going by Dawkins in The Ancestor's Tale
It's not my theory. Just something I read in a Richard Dawkins book.
I wasn't there.
So if it is incorrect then it is.
Thanks for the interesting post.
Response to cthulu2016 (Reply #4)
Thu Jan 10, 2013, 01:12 AM
Scootaloo (25,699 posts)
5. Reading that same book right now, myself. Neat!
Antarctica is a victim of the Ice Age. As for what caused the Ice Ages, well, now, that's a good question that probably has lots of good answers
I still want to see polar marsupials
Response to cthulu2016 (Original post)
Wed Jan 9, 2013, 06:42 PM
ananda (17,910 posts)
3. The angle or tilt of the earth was different.


text:
Institutional American College Test
The IACT is intended for UW Robinson Center's Transition School students only. The results will not be sent to any other institution or department.
|$65 – group testing
$95 – individual appointment (for extreme circumstances only, such as conflict with medical appointment)
Fees are payable to the University of Washington at the time of testing, in cash or check only. Credit and debit cards are NOT accepted.
|Room 440, Schmitz Hall, Testing Center
To register for an exam, please call (206-543-1171), email (email@example.com) or stop by during Testing Center hours.
|The examinee must bring picture identification and #2 pencils. If you arrive after the scheduled test time, you will not be admitted to the examination. Examinees must bring their own calculators and may not share calculators. You are responsible for your own calculator. Testing staff will not have extra batteries or calculators.
Calculators: An acceptable calculator includes nearly any four-function, scientific, or graphing calculator unless it has features described in the 'Prohibited Calculators' list on the ACT website. It is your responsibility to verify that your calculator is acceptable for testing. Please visit ACT's website to review the list of acceptable and prohibited calculators.
|Results from the test are mailed to the examinee approximately 2 weeks after the test date.
|Students may repeat the institutional ACT. Any re-tests must be taken at least 60 days after your most recent test date.
|Study guides for the national ACT program can be used to study for the Institutional ACT.
|January 11, 2017, Wednesday, 8:00 am
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BECOME A PREFERRED SUBSCRIBER+ Get 15% off Your Next Order
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See all shop tools and equipment


text:
-SIMONA- Model
TimRobbertsPhotographer Male London, England, United Kingdom
My Website: www.timrobberts.com
Mayhem # 862428
About Me
London based advertising photographer shooting lifestyle and concept images.
A lot of what I shoot is commercial stock photography for Getty Images. I am always looking for models to work with and it would be great to hear from anyone with a strong commercial look, both new and experienced.
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/TimRobberts
My photos on here are quite old, it is best to check my website to get an idea of what I shoot. www.timrobberts.com
Have you worked with TimRobberts? Add Credits for TimRobberts! >>
Credit Notes
Arcadia (Topshop), Lloyds bank, EMI, MSN, Porsche, Virgin Mobile, Orange, MSN, AOL, MAC/Estee Lauder, Shanghai fashion week, BBC, Canon.
The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Irish Times, Time magazine (US), Metro, Glamour (UK), Mens Health (Europe), Marie Claire (UK).
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text:
Pfizer (Wyeth)
The acquisition that set off 2009's wave of major acquisitions — and set the bar for the industry's mega-deals — is Pfizer's $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Like the merger of Merck and Schering-Plough, this union wasn't built primarily on one drug, but rather, built on a large library of drugs that would help shore up Pfizer's deteriorating IP. The patent cliff was just around the corner at the time, and garnering Schering-Plough's vaccines, biologic, veterinary drugs and Alzheimer's projects added depth as well as breadth to Pfizer's portfolio.
Yes, this acquisition has paid off. It's been tough to see it, but the cost-savings have mostly been realized, and Pfizer's somewhat circumvented what could have been a patent cliff disaster.
As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


text:
Dealbreaker: The Carbon Copy
Everyone knows that there are lots of fish in the sea. Some fish travel in schools and enjoy the security of being identical to their underwater neighbors. I always preferred the beta fish, however; colorful and unique, the beta fish swims alone and exudes individuality. Just like the beta fish that attacks any gilled creature that resembles his reflection, Carbon Copy and I were doomed from the start. The pond simply was not big enough for the both of us.When I first saw him in the bookstore on an ordinary Monday afternoon, I wrote the lad off as a flirtatious stranger. At first I believed to be experiencing my first case of déjà vu. The man appeared eerily familiar yet I could not place him. After three hours of perusing the travel books together he casually mentioned that he was an INFJ (a personality type from the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator). I looked at him in disbelief. Not only was he knowledgeable about psychology (my college major) but we shared the rarest personality type in the bunch. It seemed our similarities were more abundant than the novels in the bookstore.
Weeks passed and I discovered we shared southern roots, astrological signs (both fiery Sagittarians), a sarcastic sense of humor, and a love of pink clothing. We also both enjoyed singing randomly in public, reading for hours, dark chocolate, and even Lady Gaga's eccentricity. Essentially I was now involved with my long lost twin, affectionately dubbed my Carbon Copy.
"Why am I so attracted to you?" he would ask from time to time.
"Because you and I are exactly the same. You really just want to date yourself," I would tease.
But after a few months the joke no longer seemed funny. My friends agreed that I was lucky to be with a man that could finish my sentences and be so attuned to my likes and dislikes. Sure, at first things seemed perfect with Carbon Copy because I felt an instant intimate bond. But as time passed the relationship became as predictable as my mother's daily phone call. Suddenly Carbon Copy felt more like a brother or a close girlfriend than someone I wanted to shag. As it turns out, opposites do attract for good reason; mystery is essential for keeping sparks aflame in a relationship. I simply grew tired of Carbon Copy kissing the same way I kissed; touching the same way I touched. I realize that some people crave the predictability and familiarity of vanilla ice cream every night, but I would rather hold out for the occasional mocha chocolate swirl.
Besides, if I went all the way with Carbon Copy, I would only be screwing myself.


text:
David wrote:
Not quite: Setting up a distro and preparing packages to include them into a distro is a bit more than blindly following "upstreams".Said more simply? This discussion is on the wrong list. You're talking to the wrong people. Actually it looks more like you are talking to yourselves.
It also means package maintainers to be "listening" to their "user-base", to communicate their user-base's concerns upstream and to deviate from upstream when necessary.


text:
PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: W-WG defeats Truman 50-14 in a Southern Confederacy Conference game
WESTBROOK -- Jake Comnick rushed for 130 yards and four touchdowns as the Westbrook-Walnut Grove Chargers defeated Truman, 50-14, in a Southern Confederacy Conference football game Friday night, which was shortened due to a power outage in the fourth quarter.
Comnick needed just nine carries to amass his yardage while Dana Madson also received nine carries and rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown.
John Elzenga had an efficient night passing the ball as he completed 8-of-11 passes for 136 yards with two touchdowns.
Elzenga's touchdown strikes each went for 20 yards in the first quarter as the first went to Dylan Jenniges and the second was to Nick Lehnhoff.
Lehnhoff finished with three catches for 42 yards while Comnick grabbed two passes for 45 yards.
Defensively, Levi Bunting led the Chargers with nine tackles and a sack while Comnick had two sacks and eight tackles.
Matt Otto (eight tackles) and Lehnhoff each recovered a fumble with Lehnhoff returning his four yards for a defensive touchdown.
W-WG (3-2) travels to Nicollet Friday.
Truman 0 8 0 6 -- 14
E/E 68, Madelia 26
MADELIA -- Isaac Heard completed eight of 11 passes for 163 yards, including a trio of touchdowns, and the Edgerton/Ellsworth Flying Dutchmen rushed for 212 yards in a one-sided victory over the Madelia Blackhawks.
Omar Lopez helped the state's No. 1-ranked 9-man team stay undefeated (5-0) by scoring on a pair of long returns. In the first quarter, Lopez returned a kick 85 yards for E/E's third touchdown of the game and in the second quarter his 66-yard punt return to the end zone gave the Flying Dutchmen a 34-6 lead.
Heard fired a 17-yard TD pass to Derek Voge (team-leading 110 yards rushing on six carries) to open E/E's scoring .
Heard's two-point PAT run gave the visitors an early 8-0 lead.
Casey Schilling (three catches, 100 yards) caught a 36-yard TD pass from Heard before Lopez ran his kick return back for a score, building a 20-6 advantage.
Heard and Schilling later connected on a 42-yard scoring play and Heard passed to Johnny Menning for the two-point conversion, ending the first quarter scoring.
Voge ran in the PAT after Lopez's TD punt return and Heard's one-yard plunge ended the first-half scoring.
E/E's Austin LaFollette opened the second half with an electrifying 91-yard kick return and Devin Hulstein (three carries, 47 yards) rushed for the two-point conversion.
Touchdown runs by Voge and Nate Paulsen (five carries, 82 yards) of nine and 35 yards, respectively, in the third quarter increased E/E's lead to 62-6.
Madelia (2-3) scored 20 of the game's last 26 points, while the Flying Dutchmen scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on a four-yard burst by Jorge Lopez.
The Blackhawks finished with 254 total yards (212 rushing and 42 passing).
DC Claar and Blake Jouwstra (four rushes, 50 yards) each had 12 tackles to lead E/E's defense. Jouwstra also recovered a Madelia fumble.
The Flying Dutchmen host Hills-Beaver Creek Friday (in Edgerton) in a battle of two area undefeated and state-ranked teams.
Madelia 6 0 6 14 -- 26
Cathedral 39, RRC 12
LAMBERTON -- New Ulm Cathedral busted out for 355 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns against Red Rock Central in the Falcons' Homecoming game.
The top rushers for the Greyhounds were Nick Simon (11 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns), Eric Hauser (13 carries for 125 yards and one touchdown) and Ted Skillings (12 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns).
RRC scored in the first quarter on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Bunting (21-for-23 passing for 194 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) to Jeff Decock (three receptions for 138 yards) and scored in the fourth quarter on a one-yard pass from Bunting to Mitchell Schroepfer (three carries for 31 yards).
Daniel Maras led the Falcons on the ground with 26 carries for 97 yards. Logan Willhite had five catches for 22 yards and Jesse Rogotzke had two catches for 33 yards.
RRC (2-3) will host Southwestern United on Friday.


text:
In vivo microcirculatory imaging facilitates the fundamental understanding of many major diseases. However, existing techniques generally require invasive procedures or exogenous contrast agents, which perturb the intrinsic physiology of the microcirculation. Here, we report on optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) for noninvasive label-free microcirculatory imaging at cellular levels. For the first time, OR-PAM demonstrates quantification of hemoglobin concentration and oxygenation in single microvessels down to capillaries. Using this technique, we imaged several important yet elusive microhemodynamic activities—including vasomotion and vasodilation—in small animals in vivo. OR-PAM enables functional volumetric imaging of the intact microcirculation, thereby providing greatly improved accuracy and versatility for broad biological and clinical applications.
© 2009 Optical Society of AmericaFull Article | PDF Article
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text:
We need suitable person for the following
position in Jesus
Job Profile
- Manager-Promotions will be responsible for
- Public Relations to promote the Ministry.
- Evaluation of partner satisfaction.
- Liaison with outside Agencies and Institutions etc., to promote the events of the Ministry and the production of promotional material / corporate gifts.
- Management of Hospitality of guests and visitors.
- Partner Relations Management
- Mobilization of sponsorship to support Ministry events.
Age :
35 – 45 Years
Qualification :
Graduate or Post Graduate in any discipline.
Preference will be given to those having additional qualifications in International Business / Affairs.
Experience :
Related experience in marketing or Public Relations functions of Hospitality Industry.
Compensation :
- This is a senior level post and compensation would be commensurate with the candidate's experience, qualifications and skills.
Compensation will not be a constraint for the right candidate and is negotiable.
- Contractual appointment or regular appointment can be considered.
Applications may please be sent with detailed C.V., copies of educational qualification's certificates and proof of experience to
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If the source of this report is to be believed, the standard version of the Samsung Galaxy S7 will come with a 5.2-inch display, but Samsung is also said to launch a 5.8-inch version of the Galaxy S7. Although this seems like a long stretch, bear in mind that Samsung's current-gen smartphone line-up includes two smartphones that are almost identical in terms of design and specs, with the only differentiating factor being the display size. We're obviously talking about the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge and the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+.
The report also notes that the Galaxy S7 will come with a 4K display, but the source does not mention if this will be the resolution of the 5.8-inch display, or for the 5.2-inch version as well. The Samsung Galaxy S6 already comes with an amazingly sharp 5.1-inch display with a resolution of 1440 by 2560 pixels (QHD) at a PPI of 577, and going any further than QHD at 5.2 inches across the diagonal might be considered a bit of overkill. Note that the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, the world's first smartphone with a 4K display comes with a 5.5-inch panel running a 4K resolution at 808 PPI.
Allegedly, the Galaxy S7 will come with 4GB of RAM, which would mean that Samsung's newfound capabilities of fitting 6GB of RAM inside a smartphone will be postponed until the Galaxy Note 6 rears its head.


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Consumer confidence has soared to three-year highs, propelled by record low interest rates and the election of a Coalition government.
The Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment, released today, increased by 4.7 per cent in September to 110.6 - its highest point since December 2010.
Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said although the survey was mostly conducted before Saturday's election, between September 2 and 8, it was clear the election outcome played a big part in the confidence boost. Record-low interest rates also contributed, he said.
The upbeat report will be a relief to the Reserve Bank which has been counting on a revival in consumer and business spending to help plug the gap left by a cooling mining boom.
The outcome echoes a survey of 600 businesses out yesterday that showed companies' confidence soared last month, with a major part of the rise attributed to an expected change in government.
''This is a very strong result,'' Mr Evans said. ''It was really only the last day of the survey that covered the actual election result although media coverage pointed strongly to a coalition victory throughout the survey period.
''Responses collected on the last day of the survey showed a further marked lift in sentiment although the sample size is too small for this to be a statistically valid result.
''I think it is reasonable to conclude that the election result played an important if not leading role in this strong boost to consumer sentiment.
''The result is comparable with the boost to the index in March 1996 when the Coalition was returned after 13 years in opposition.''
Mr Evans said components of the index showed the confidence boost was driven by optimism about the economy, rather than how households feel about their own finances.
He said aspects of the survey would give the Reserve Bank encouragement that rate cuts, complemented by the boost from the election, ''make policy settings about right''.
But soft labour market, business investment and consumer spending conditions meant the RBA would need more time to assess the underlying strength of the economy, he said.
The index reading was up 12.7 per cent on September last year at 110.6, meaning optimists now comfortably outnumber pessimists.
The effect on sentiment was clear as the confidence index for Coalition supporters surged over 19 per cent in September, outweighing a 10 per cent drop among Labor supporters.
The sub-index tracking assessments of whether now is a good time to buy a dwelling jumped 6.5 per cent to the highest level since August 2009, the report showed.
Home prices rose 5.3 per cent across Australia's eight major cities in the year to August 31, according to an RP Data-Rismark home value index. Sydney home prices recorded the biggest quarterly rise since April 2009, it showed.
Traders are pricing in a 66 per cent chance the central bank will keep rates unchanged this year, according to interest-rate swaps data. The RBA has eased borrowing costs by 2.25 percentage points since November 2011.
BusinessDay, with wires