RNA Bioscience Initiative

The mission of the RNA Bioscience Initiative (RBI) is to cultivate a vibrant center of discovery and innovation in RNA biology, informatics, diagnostics, and therapy. Our goal is to provide a fluid pipeline from basic to clinical RNA research at the Anschutz Medical Campus.

RNA in the News

RBI Co-Director Discusses the Future of mRNA Technology on 9News

June 2, 2021

RBI Co-Director, David Bentley, PhD, was interviewed by 9News reporter Anusha Roy and featured on Next with Kyle Clark. In this piece Dr. Bentley expertly describes the future of mRNA technology and its possible therapeutic uses beyond the COVID vaccine.

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mRNA Vaccine Technology Paves the Way for COVID-19 Boosters

May 5, 2021

Moderna recently announced that both its low-dose and variant-specific boosters effectively neutralize Covid-19 variants. Clinical trials of the boosters are ongoing; boosters are expected to be available in fall 2021.

RBI Graduate Student, Evan Morrison, Wins HHMI Gilliam Award

July 22, 2021

RBI's Evan Morrison and his mentor, Olivia Rissland, have been selected as one of 50 new HHMI Gilliam student-advisor pairs. Gilliam fellowships are awarded to outstanding graduate students and their PhD mentors as part of a program to foster diversity and inclusion in biomedical or life science disciplines.
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Rissland Wins National Science Foundation Career Award

July 15, 2021

The NSF has awarded RBI's Dr. Olivia Rissand a prestigious Early Career Development award to study the maternal-to-zygotic transition in animal embryogenesis. The award will provide $1.3 million dollars of funding over five years.
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Taliaferro and Pearson Secure Funding from W.M. Keck Foundation

July 12, 2021

RBI faculty members Matt Taliaferro, PhD and Chad Pearson, PhD, have been awarded a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation for their project Control of cell division through centrosomal RNA localization. The goal of this study is to uncover the identity of centrosomal RNAs essential to the proper regulation of cell division. Given the links between centrosome dysfunction and cancer, it may reveal previously unidentified mechanisms that contribute to tumorigenesis.

Jagannathan Awarded Grant by the FSHD Society

July 8, 2021

Dr. Sujatha Jagannathan was recently awarded an investigator-initiated research grant by the FSHD Society. This grant will support her lab's work on identifying the mechanism by which the DUX4 inhibits nonsense-mediated RNA deco (NMD) in the human muscle disease facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Congratulations Suja!
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Former RBI Scholar, Brenna Dennison, Manuscript Featured in Development

June 29, 2021

Congratulations to former RBI Scholar Brenna Dennison, whose manuscript has been featured in Development. Brenna was an RBI Scholar for the 2019-2020 year, and is currently a PhD student in Dr. Katherine Fantauzzo's lab.
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Current RBI Scholar, Divya Kolakada, Awarded Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association

June 8, 2021

Congratulations to Divya Kolakada, current RBI Scholar, for being awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship by the American Heart Society. Currently a PhD student in Dr. Sujatha Jagannathan's lab, Divya's project will be focused on investigating the fate of NMD substrates and their protein products.
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Former RBI Postdoc, Tassa Saldi, Featured in the June Edition of CU Anschutz Alumni Pulse

June 8, 2021

Find out how Dr. Saldi leveraged her CU Anschutz-RBI training to advance her career. Currently she serves as the laboratory director of the COVID-19 Surveillance Lab at the BioFrontiers Institute and Chief Scientific Officer of TUMI Genomics, a diagnostics company she co-founded in 2020.
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More Spotlight Features

On Tap

RNA Gong Show

Aug 1, 2021 | 02:00 PM - 04:00 PM

Please join us for an RNA Gong Show in celebration of RNA Day! Co-hosted by the Colorado RNA Club, Project Bridge, CU Anschutz- RNA Bioscience Initiative, and Ratio Beerworks.

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RNA Chalk Talk

Aug 24, 2021 | 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM

Roberto Castro Gutierrez, Molecular Biology graduate student

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The RBI has made CU Anschutz a clear hub of RNA biology expertise, raising the status of the university and its researchers in the eyes of scientists at institutions around the country and the world. The RBI sets CU Anschutz up as a leader in the exciting and groundbreaking field of RNA biology.

Amy Campbell

PhD

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

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