MIT’s Koch Institute Hosts 13th Annual Symposium, “RNA Biology, Cancer and Therapeutic Implications”

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Newswise CAMBRIDGE, MA, June 9, 2014 On Friday, June 13, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT (KI) will host its 13th annual KI Summer Symposium, RNA Biology, Cancer and Therapeutic Implications. This one-day symposium at MITs Kresge Auditorium will focus on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying RNA-based gene regulation in cancer. Nearly 1,000 cancer researchers, RNA biologists, and clinical oncologists will convene to hear updates on the latest breakthroughs in the creation of RNA-based gene-editing tools and the development and intracellular delivery of RNA-cancer medicines.

RNA therapeutics turn genes on and off, which provides the opportunity to treat a host of diseases caused by malfunctioning genes. While the process was initially challenging, promising early clinical results sparked a renaissance of the field and renewed optimism about the impact of RNA therapies.

Featured Symposium presenters include:

Phillip Sharp, PhD, Institute Professor, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Professor Sharps research interests have centered on the molecular biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA splicing. His landmark work in 1977 provided the first indications of discontinuous genes in mammalian cells and earned him the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His research interest is RNA Biology.

David Bartel, PhD, Member, Whitehead Institute; Professor of Biology, MIT; a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Over the past 15 years, Professor Bartels laboratory has contributed to the understanding of the genomics, biogenesis, and regulatory targets of microRNAs (miRNAs) and other regulatory RNAs, as well as the molecular and biological consequences of their actions.

Joshua Mendell, MD, PhD, Professor of Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center. The Mendell laboratory is a leader in elucidating functions of the miRNA pathway relative to cancer. Professor Mendells research group provided one of the first demonstrations that miRNAs are functional components of critical oncogenic and tumor suppressor pathways and that miRNAs represent anti-cancer therapeutic agents when delivered systemically.

Sangeeta Bhatia, MD, PhD, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT; a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Professor Bhatia has been recognized as one of the the nations most promising young professors in science and engineering and was named one of the 10 Most Influential Women in Biotech by the Boston Globe. Her laboratory has developed tumor-penetrating nanocomplexes that shut off cancer genes. These are comprised of small interfering RNA (siRNA) in complex with a peptide designed to enable the specific delivery of siRNA into the tumors

Daniel Anderson, PhD, Samuel A. Goldblith Professor of Applied Biology; Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Professor Anderson has developed innovative systems for intracellular delivery of RNA. Through his labs efforts the efficiency of nano-particle delivery of siRNAs in vivo has increased by over two orders of magnitude.

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MIT's Koch Institute Hosts 13th Annual Symposium, "RNA Biology, Cancer and Therapeutic Implications"