Events

October 14-15, 2024
Hotel Canandaigua, a Tapestry by Hilton
205 Lakeshore Dr.
Canandaigua, NY 14424

Symposium Flyer

We are pleased to announce our upcoming 2024 New York Symposium in the Finger Lakes, co-organized and hosted by the University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology and The RNA Institute at the University at Albany. This year's meeting will be held at the Hotel Canandaigua on October 14-15th, 2024. The symposium will feature a rich exchange of information leveraging the innovative and interdisciplinary research ongoing within the regional RNA community (including primarily New England and mid-Atlantic states).

The symposium will feature keynote talks, invited faculty talks, and trainee presentations (including posters, 15-minute talks, and 1-min lightning talks selected from abstract submissions). This year’s event is trainee-focused, with a networking lunch, a trainee gathering the day before the formal meeting starts (to be held on Oct 13th), poster and talk awards, and opportunities for trainees to interact with senior scientists and industry partners.

Keynote Speakers:

• Eckhard Jankowsky, PhD, VP of RNA Science, Moderna
• Karla Neugebauer, PhD, Director, Yale Center for RNA Science & Medicine
• Sally Temple, PhD, Co-Founder and Scientific Director, Neural Stem Cell Institute
• Blanton Tolbert, PhD, (UR Alumnus) VP of Science Leadership and Culture, HHMI; Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania

Faculty Speakers:

• Mitchell O’Connell, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics; Member, Center for RNA Biology; University of Rochester Medical Center
• Kathleen McDonough, PhD, Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, The RNA Institute, University at Albany

Early-bird registration, abstract submission, and hotel deadline: September 13th

• Registration costs include meals and attendance for both days.
• Trainees, plan to arrive Sun, Oct 13th in time for an early afternoon event (TBD).
• Abstracts should be submitted separately using this template; see Abstracts for more info
  • Abstract submission closes after September 13, 2024
• Hotel Accommodations must be booked separately from registration.
  • Click here for our event hotel booking links & rates.
  • UR trainees are encouraged to double-up at the 2-Queen room rate at the Hotel Canandaigua.

Visit our Symposium Page     Register Today

If you have any questions, please reach out to FingerLakesRNA@urmc.rochester.edu.

 Oct 14, 2024 @ 8:00 a.m.

Paul Boutz, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics; Diversity Officer, NIH T32 in CBMS & the Center for RNA Biology

Workshop on Giving & Receiving Constructive Criticism

Constructive criticism plays an important role in the daily lives of working scientists. Dr. Paul Boutz will be facilitating a discussion on criticism, sponsored by the T32 Training Grant in Cellular, Biochemical, and Molecular Sciences. All Biochemistry & Biophysics students, as well as T32 Training grant recipients are invited.  We will focus first on feedback for in-person presentations such as student seminar, but time permitting, may discuss other areas, such as manuscript and grant reviews.  Are there any examples in your own experiences where criticism has been particularly helpful, or particularly hurtful?  Bring any ideas you would like to share and discuss.

 May 07, 2024 @ 1:00 p.m.

 Medical Center | Ryan Case Method (1-9576)

Host: Sponsored by the NIH NIGMS T32 in Cellular, Biochemical & Molecular Sciences

Xiaohua Shen, PhD - Professor, School of Medicine
Yantz Professor of the Ministry of Education
Investigator, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

 Apr 30, 2024 @ 10:00 a.m.

 Medical Center | K-307 (SMD 3-6408)

Host: Dr. Lynne Maquat, PhD

Sarah Slavoff, PhD - Associate Professor of Chemistry and of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry Member, Institute for Biomolecular Design and Discovery, Yale University, New Haven, CT

GWIS Flyer

 Mar 21, 2024 @ 3:00 p.m.

 Medical Center | Lower Adolph Aud (1-7619)

Host: Dr. Lynne Maquat, co-sponsored by the NIH NIGMS T32 Training Grant in Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Sciences (CBMS) (Maquat PI, Hayes Co-PI)

Sarah Slavoff, PhD - Associate Professor of Chemistry and of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, and Member of the Institute for Biomolecular Design and Discovery, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Our Keynote Retreat Speaker this year is Dr. Sarah Slavoff, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemistry and of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, and Member of the Institute for Biomolecular Design and Discovery, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Her talk title is “Dark Matter of the Human Genome”. Her host is Dr. Lynne Maquat, and the retreat is co-sponsored by Graduate Women in Science (GWIS).

Back by popular demand, there will be a Wellness & Resilience Panel following the Keynote, from 3:15 – 4:15 pm for students, postdocs, and lab techs only (no faculty). The featured panelists are:

• Kathryn Dorsheimer, PhD, Director of Training, University Counseling Center; Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, UR
• Kermin Martínez-Hernández, PhD, Principal Facilitator, Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER); Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, St. John Fisher University
• Adrienne Morgan, PhD, Richard Feldman Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, UR; Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, UR Medical Center; Associate Professor for the Department of Health Humanities & Bioethics, the Warner School of Education, and the School of Nursing, UR
• Amber Rivera, MSW, Director of Learner Life and Wellness, Graduate Education & Postdoctoral Affairs, UR School of Medicine and Dentistry

Dr. Slavoff (the T32 Retreat Keynote) will also be presenting at the GWIS Meeting on Thursday, March 21st, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm in Adolph Lower Aud (1-7619). Her talk title is “My Journey in Chemical Biology”.

Event flyer

 Mar 20, 2024 @ 1:00 p.m.

 Medical Center | Class of '62 Aud (G-9425)

Ronald Breaker, PhD - Sterling Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; Professor, Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry; Howard Hughes Investigator, Yale University, New Haven, CT

 Mar 13, 2024 @ 2:00 p.m.

 Medical Center | Ryan Case Method Rm. (1-9576)

Host: Dr. Joseph Wedekind (co-sponsored by the RNA Structure & Function Cluster)

“Development of Therapeutic Anticodon Edited (ACE)-tRNA Technologies for Nonsense Associated Diseases”

John Lueck, PhD 
Assistant Professor, Departments of Pharmacology & Physiology, and of Neurology; Member, UR Center for RNA Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center 

“Satellite DNAs and Small RNAs in Drosophila”

Amanda Larracuente, PhD
Associate Professor & Associate Chair, Department of Biology; Member, UR Center for RNA Biology, University of Rochester

Moderator: Eric Wagner, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics; Associate Director, UR Center for RNA Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center

View flyer

 Jan 31, 2024 @ 4:00 p.m.

Host: University of Rochester (UR) Center for RNA Biology