The RNA Transcript, November 8, 2021 |
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Happy Diwali Celebration! |
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TODAY, Monday, November 8, 4:00 pm ET | University of Michigan Center for RNA Biomedicine
"Harnessing diverse compact CRISPR-Cas3 for long-range genome engineering"
"Microscopic Examination of Spatial Transcriptome through Seq-Scope"
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Fueled by the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine success and the recent Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and elucidation of the bacterial CRISPR systems that can be harnessed for genome editing, RNA therapeutics has garnered considerable interest from academia, the pharmaceutical industry, and the public at large. To capitalize on this great momentum, the Center for RNA Biomedicine and the Biointerfaces Institute plan to leverage the strength of University of Michigan (U-M) research in RNA biomedicine and nanoparticle sciences to build a world-class resource that will convert U-M foundational research innovations into RNA-based clinical treatments.
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18 U-M scientists and scholars present their research on three RNA therapeutics areas: mRNA vaccines, ASOs, and CRISPR. The second half of the magazine highlights the main activities of the Center for the July 2020–June 2021 period.
Special thanks to all our contributors!
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Monday, November 8, 1:00 pm ET, Med Sci II North lecture Hall | University of Michigan Chromatin Club
Trainee Talk: Arvind Ramakrishnan, Cadigan lab, MCDB, College of LSA
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Tuesday, November 9, 12:00–1:00 pm ET, in person, 3330 MS I, and ZOOM | University of Michigan, Biological Chemistry, Medical School
"Structural Basis of Bacterial CRISPR Immunity"
Hosts: Yan Zhang, Biological Chemistry, and Nils Walter, Chemistry
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Tuesday, November 9, 4:00 pm ET, ZOOM | University of Michigan Center for Cell Plasticity and Cell Design (CPOD)
“Adventures with the Argonautes”
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Gretchen Stone Cook Professor of Biomedical Sciences, University of Massachusetts
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Monday–Wednesday, November 15–17, 2021, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (must attend all sessions) | BRCF Bioinformatics Core Virtual 3-Day Workshop: RNA-Seq Demystified
Cost: $250
This three-half-day, virtual, hands-on workshop is targeted toward researchers who would like to be able to understand the analysis of differential gene expression in bulk RNA-Seq data.
Please note that this workshop assumes a basic familiarity with genetics as well as familiarity with the basics of using Bash and R. If you don't have background in Bash/R, we hope to offer a complete workshop series that covers both Bash/R and RNA-Seq early in 2022.
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"Multiome Webinar Series"
Explore 10x Genomics' Loupe Browser software and how it can be used to quickly and easily visualize and analyze 10x Chromium™ Single Cell Multiome ATAC + GEX data. It combines the tools previously developed for looking at Single Cell Gene Expression and Single Cell ATAC data, and adds functionality to allow users to easily connect and relate gene expression and ATAC data generated for the same cells.
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January 3–6, 2022, St. Petersburg, Florida | The RNA Society
6th Conference on Regulating with RNA in Bacteria & Archaea — CRISPR systems, small noncoding RNAs, riboswitches, transcriptomics, host-pathogen interactions, and more.
The deadline for poster abstracts is November 15, 2021.
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For press releases and blog articles about your upcoming top journal publications, please
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Our members' publications are available through Altmetric. Five queries are currently available: "RNA," "microRNA," "Transcriptome," "Translation," and "Molecule." Please make sure to have at least one of these key words in your title or abstract. Below is a recent highlight.
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The International Society of RNA Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine (ISRNN): The Present and Future of the Burgeoning Field, Morgan Chandler, Brittany Johnson, Emil Khisamutdinov, Marina A. Dobrovolskaia, Joanna Sztuba-Solinska, Aliasger K. Salem, Koen Breyne, Roger Chammas, Nils G. Walter, Lydia M. Contreras, Peixuan Guo, and Kirill A. Afonin, ACS Nano 2021, Publication Date: October 22, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c10240
Abstract: The International Society of RNA Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine (ISRNN) hosts an annual meeting series focused on presenting the latest research achievements involving RNA-based therapeutics and strategies, aiming to expand their current biomedical applications while overcoming the remaining challenges of the burgeoning field of RNA nanotechnology. In this Nano Focus, we summarize the main discussion points, conclusions, and future directions identified during this two-day webinar as well as more recent advances to highlight and to accelerate this exciting field.
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Epigenetically defined therapeutic targeting in H3.3G34R/V high-grade gliomas, Stephan R. Sweha, Chan Chung, Kumar Natarajan, Pooja Panwalkar, Matthew Pun, Amer Ghali, Jill Bayliss, Drew Pratt, Anand Shankar, ..., Arul Chinnaiyan, and Sriram Venneti, Science Translational Medicine, 13 Oct 2021, Vol 13, Issue 615,
STAT3 inhibition for H3.3G34R/V gliomas
High-grade gliomas with arginine or valine substitutions at the glycine-34 residue on histone H3.3 (H3.3G34R/V gliomas) carry a poor prognosis. Here, Sweha and colleagues investigated the epigenetics of these tumors, finding activating epigenetic modifications on histone H3 lysine residues, as well as DNA promoter hypomethylation. They also found redistribution of repressive histone marks at the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) locus, leading to increased LIF abundance and secretion. LIF activated STAT3 signaling, which the authors targeted with a blood-brain barrier–permeable small-molecule inhibitor called WP1066. When given to mice carrying H3.3G34R/V tumors, WP1066 suppressed tumor growth, suggesting that inhibition of STAT3 signaling may be of therapeutic value in H3.3G34R/V gliomas.
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Grant and Career Opportunity |
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Faculty position (any rank) at the
We seek to hire outstanding faculty (at any rank) interested in a broad range of cancer-focused, RNA Biology-related topics including: transcriptional and/or epigenetic regulation, cancer genomics, cellular reprogramming and cancer stem cells, effects of cell-cell interactions and/or tumor microenvironment or other cancer-focused topics. We expect that junior applicants will have a strong potential for obtaining outside funding. Mid- or senior-level applicants should have a strong track record of publications and funding. Start-up packages and salaries are competitive and the environment here is highly interactive. In addition, New Mexico is a great place to live with great weather and outdoor activities.
MORE INFO: Open Rank of UNMCCC in IM Molecular Medicine - RNA Biologist - req# 11161
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Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry,
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
The Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (MBB) at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada, invites applications for one tenure‑track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Nucleic Acids Biochemistry with a potential start date of July 1, 2022. Simon Fraser University (SFU), on the outskirts of Vancouver, BC, is Canada’s top-ranked comprehensive university and one of Canada’s top employers, well situated at the intersection of innovative education, cutting-edge research, and community engagement. SFU’s excellence as an engaged university is derived from our shared commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion, and the pursuit of decolonization, indigenization and reconciliation. SFU has three campuses located in beautiful British Columbia’s largest municipalities – Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey – our students, faculty and staff are privileged to live and work on the traditional unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen Peoples.
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Newly released NSF solicitation
The goal of an Ideas Lab is to develop innovative proposal ideas tackling grand challenge problems. The grand challenge problem here: can we make sense of biological dark matter? Specifically, what is the evolutionary and functional significance of non-coding RNA?
Data science, computational methodologies, machine learning, and artificial analysis play an important role in advancing our understanding of the origin, diversity, and functions of non-coding RNAs.
The two-page preliminary proposal is due on January 31, 2022.
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Are you interested in this NSF grant, and would like to find collaborators to spark ideas? Consider a Grant Sprint!
Grant Sprints create a space and time for collaboration and innovative thinking. They facilitate the concept, ideation, and grant writing process between experts from different fields. These brainstorming sessions are free, tailored to specific requests and goals, and offered to all our members. For detailed information and help on your next proposal, contact Martina Jerant (mjerant@umich.edu).
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