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Lynne Maquat, Ph.D., the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, was honored with the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) Jubilee Lectureship in September. The IUBMB unites biochemists and molecular biologists in 75 countries and is devoted to promoting research and education in biochemistry and molecular biology, giving particular attention to areas where the subject is still in its early development.

The IUBMB Jubilee Lectureship was established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the First International Congress of Biochemistry that was held in Cambridge, England in 1949, at which the initial steps were taken that led to the formation of IUBMB. Maquat gave the keynote lecture at the IUBMB Molecular Biosystems Conference in Puerto Varas, Chile on September 30 and was presented with a medal in recognition of the event.

The founding director of the University of Rochester's Center for RNA Biology, Maquat has spent her career deciphering the many roles that RNA plays in sickness and in health. She's an international leader in the field and is credited with several major discoveries that are informing a new generation of therapies for a wide range of genetic disorders.

Her lecture, titled "Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay in Human Health and Disease," described her discovery of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay or NMD and how this important surveillance system protects against mistakes in gene expression that lead to disease. She also discussed ongoing work on how misregulation of NMD in Fragile X Syndrome, the most common single gene cause of intellectual disability and autism, results in neuronal defects that typify this disorder.

Thank you, from the Center of RNA Biology members, to Dianne Edgar, MD and Terry Platt, PhD for their generous gifts to the Center over the years.

Dr. Edgar is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the URMC, and a Pediatrician at Parkwest Women's Health. Dr. Platt is a Professor Emeritus of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the URMC.

The Center will use the gift toward an RNA-centric seminar in their names, a testament to their generosity. Thank you, Dr. Edgar and Dr. Platt!

Emily's Entourage (EE) is incredibly honored to have a group of scientists dedicated to accelerating research and drug development for nonsense mutations of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). In the next year, 90% of the CF population could see the benefits of a life-saving drug on the market (currently pending FDA review and approval), but those in the final 10%, including those with nonsense mutations, will not benefit from these new breakthrough drugs.

And in fact, the commitment of the scientists run so deep that it is not merely limited to their "day job" at the lab advancing critical research. Rather, at times, it permeates many aspects of their lives. There is no better example of that than University of Rochester's John Lueck, PhD, who has decided not only to do research to speed breakthroughs and a cure for the final 10%, but also to raise the funds that will drive the critical research.

Over the last few months, Dr. Lueck has trained to climb The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps, a mountain he tackled on August 22 that reaches almost 15,000 feet high. As a two-time EE grantee through the Catalyst for a Cure Campaign, he flipped the script and committed to raise funds for EE throughout the entire training process!