RNA Worlds Conference

The BioFrontiers Institute will be hosting a very special conference The RNA Worlds: Past, Present and Future, May 21 to 24, 2023 at Butcher Auditorium in the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building. In addition there will be a Public Forum, The Future and Ethics of Genome Editing, May 23^rd, 6 – 7:30 PM, in Macky Auditorium.

RNA Worlds Logo

BioFrontiers logo

Speaker Sessions

Poster Sessions

Public Forum

Getting Here

Organizing Committee

Tom Cech

CU Boulder

John Atkins

University College
Cork

Jennifer Doudna

UC Berkeley

Venki Ramakrishnan

MRC, Cambridge
UK

Joan Steitz

Yale

Jack Szostak

University of Chicago

Additional confirmed participants

Brenda Bass (U of Utah)

Donna Blackmond (Scripps Inst, La Jolla)

Ron Breaker (Yale)

Howard Chang (Stanford)

Jason Chin (MRC Cambridge UK)

Elena Conti (Max Planck Martinsried)

Rhiju Das (Stanford)

Phil Felgner (UC Irvine)

Ryan Flynn (Harvard Medical School)

Larry Gold (Somalogic)

Rachel Green (Johns Hopkins)

Eckhard Jankowsky (Moderna)

Tracy Johnson (UCLA)

Jerry Joyce (Salk Institute)

Adrian Krainer (CSHL)

Reinhard Lührmann (Max Planck Göttingen)

Kelly Nguyen (MRC Cambridge)

Harry Noller (UCSC)

Eric Olson (UTSW)

Roy Parker (CU Boulder)

Jody Puglisi (Stanford)

Phil Sharp (MIT)

John Sutherland (MRC, LMB, Cambridge UK)

Özlem Türeci (BioNTech)

Ruixue Wan (Westlake University, Hangzhou China)

The vision for this conference began with our friend Tom Mann, who has an infectious enthusiasm for RNA science, and is made possible by support from Tom and Diann Mann.

Registration

Registration for the scientific sessions is now full, but additional participants are invited to watch a live stream in the overflow room, watch the recorded version after the conference, and attend the free Public Forum. There is not a live remote participation option. For questions, contact us.

Speaker Sessions

Day 1

The Primordial RNA World
Poster Sessions

Day 2

The World of Present-Day RNA Research
Poster Sessions

Day 3

The World of RNA Medicine

Day 4

The Future World of RNA

Day 1 – Sunday, May 21

The Primordial RNA World

PDB 2OEU – Hammerhead Ribozyme

Morning

Mike Yarus, University of Colorado Boulder, professor emeritus
Morning Session 1 Chair

9:00 – 9:10
Tom Cech
Welcoming Remarks

9:10 – 9:40
Jerry Joyce (Salk Inst)
"Recreating RNA-Based Life"

9:40 – 10:10
John Sutherland (MRC, LMB, Cambridge UK)
"Geochemically Plausible Synthesis of Nucleotides"

10:10 – 10:40
Donna Blackmond (Scripps Inst, La Jolla)
"Physical and Chemical Models for the Origin of Biological Homochirality"

Break

Rob Batey, University of Colorado Boulder
Morning Session 2 Chair

11:00 – 11:30
Ron Breaker (Yale)
"Biological and Biochemical Functions of OLE, a Large Bacterial Noncoding RNA"

11:30 – 12:00
Harry Noller (UCSC)
"Emergence of the Ribosome from an RNA World"

12:00 – 12:30
Tom Cech (CU Boulder)
"From Ribozymes to Epigenetics"

Afternoon

12:30 – 2:00pm
Lunch provided for all registered attendees

John Atkins, University College, Cork
Afternoon Session Chair and Panel Moderator

2:00 – 2:30pm
Jack Szostak (U of Chicago)
"Why Did Biology Begin with RNA and Not Some Other Genetic Polymer?"

2:30 – 4:00pm
Panel: Origins of Life – Will We Ever Know?
Jack, Jerry, John, Donna and Harry

4:00 – 6:00pm
Poster session #1

Because RNA encompasses both information and catalysis, a primordial self-replicating system could have consisted of RNA alone.

Day 2 – Monday, May 22

The Present World of RNA Research

Group 1
PDB 1GID – Group I Ribozyme

Morning

John Abelson, Caltech, professor emeritus
Morning Session 1 Chair

9:10 – 9:40am
Annsea Park (representing Joan Steitz) (Yale University)
"More Functions for Non-Coding RNAs: Update on the DoG Story"

9:40 – 10:10am
Reinhard Lührmann (Max Planck Göttingen)
"The Cascade of snRNP Remodeling Steps Leading to the Formation of the Spliceosome’s Active Site"

10:10 – 10:40am
Ruixue Wan (Westlake University, Hangzhou China)
"Beyond the Major Splicing Pathway: Structural Mechanism of U12-type Splicing by the Minor Spliceosome"

Break

Tracy Johnson, UCLA
Morning Session 2 Chair

11:00 – 11:30am
Brenda Bass (Utah)
"Divergent Roles of Dicer’s Helicase Domain in Antiviral Defense"

11:30 – 12:00pm
Kelly Nguyen (MRC Cambridge)
"Replenishing the Ends: Visualisation of Human Telomerase Holoenzyme by Cryo-EM"

12:00 – 12:30pm
Elena Conti (Max Planck Martinsried)
"Molecular Principles in the Architecture of Nuclear mRNPs"

Afternoon

12:30 – 2:30pm
Lunch provided for all registered attendees

Olke Uhlenbeck, University of Colorado Boulder, professor emeritus
Afternoon Session Chair

2:30 – 3:00pm
Jody Puglisi (Stanford U)
"The Choreography of Translation"

3:00 – 3:30pm
Rachel Green (Johns Hopkins)
"Colliding Ribosomes Function as a Signal for Activating Cellular Stress Response Pathways"

3:30 – 4:00pm
John Atkins (Cork)
"Decoding Versatility and its Implications"

4:00 – 6:00pm
Poster session #2

Beyond its role as a messenger, RNA can splice, dice, and make proteins.

Day 3 - Tuesday, May 23

The World of RNA Medicine

CRISPR
PDB 6AI6 – CRISPR sgRNA + target DNA

Morning

Jerry Joyce, Salk Institute
Morning Session 1 Chair

9:10 – 9:40am
Eckhard Jankowsky (Moderna)
"mRNA Medicines"

9:40 – 10:10am
Özlem Türeci (BioNTech)
"mRNA-Based Immunotherapies"

10:10 – 10:40am
Phil Felgner (UC Irvine)
"mRNA Lipid Nanoparticles: Past, Present & Future"

Break

Jim Dahlberg, University of Wisconsin Madison, professor emeritus
Morning Session 2 Chair

11:00 – 11:30am
Phil Sharp (MIT)
"RNA Biology to Therapeutics: An Emerging Story"

11:30 – 12:00pm
Howard Chang (Stanford)
"RNA Origin of Sex Biased Immunity"

12:00 – 12:30pm
Eric Olson (UTSW)
"CRISPR Correction of Heart and Muscle Disease"

Afternoon

12:30 – 2:00pm
Lunch provided for all registered attendees

2:00 – 5:00pm
Free Time

Natural RNAs – siRNA, mRNA, CRISPR – are being repurposed for unmet medical needs.

Day 4 - Wednesday, May 24

The Future World of RNA

EMD 21026 – RNA nanocage

Morning

Brenda Bass, University of Utah
Morning Session 1 Chair

9:10 – 9:40am
Adrian Krainer (CSHL)
“Antisense Therapy for Diffuse Midline Glioma”

9:40 – 10:10am
Roy Parker (CU Boulder)
"RNP Granules in Health, Viral Infection, and Neurodegenerative Disease"

10:10 – 10:40am
Jason Chin (MRC Cambridge UK)
"Reprogramming the Genetic Code"

Break

Eckhard Jankowsky, Moderna
Session Chair and Panel Moderator

11:00 – 11:30am
Ryan Flynn (Harvard Med School)
"(glyco)RNA Biology on the Cell Surface"

11:30 – 12:00pm
Rhiju Das (Stanford U)
"Progress in 3D RNA Modeling"

12:00 – 1:00pm
Panel: The Future of RNA Research and Medicine
Larry Gold, Roy Parker, Phil Sharp, Özlem Türeci

1:00 – 1:05pm
Tom Cech
Closing Remarks

Afternoon

1:00pm

Meeting adjourned

Box lunches provided for all registered attendees

We will discover new classes of RNA, new functions of known RNAs, and new technologies to unravel the mysteries of this marvelous molecule.

Public Forum – Tuesday, May 23

The Future and Ethics of Genome Editing

Public forum

Panel Moderator - Tom Cech (University of Colorado Boulder)

Keynote Speaker – Jennifer Doudna (UC Berkeley)
"The World of CRISPR: RNA-Guided Immunity and Genome Editing"

Panelists – Eric Olson (UTSW), Jason Chin (MRC Cambridge UK), Tracy Johnson (UCLA), Özlem Türeci (BioNTech)

Macky Auditorium
May 23, 6:00–7:30 pm
Doors open at 5:30 pm

Public welcome
Registration free but required

Register Here

Getting Here

Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building

Driving directions

Parking map

Public transit options

Macky Auditorium

Driving directions

Parking map

Public transit options

Boulder Activities

Near the hotel

Drinks & live music

Get a drink and/or enjoy live music in the hotel at The Corner Bar (hotel lobby level), Bohemian Biergarten (1 block south of hotel on 13th St; map), or Avanti Food & Beverage (14th and Pearl St; map)

Coffee

Enjoy a coffee at Cristos Coffee (Broadway & Spruce St - map), Brewing Market Coffee and Tea (13th St & Lawry Ln - map), or Trident Booksellers and Café (Pearl St between 9th & 10th Sts - map)

Shopping & dining

Shop, dine, stroll on Pearl St pedestrian mall (1 block south of hotel on 13th St, then running west-east - map).

Take a walk

Take a walk through the historic Mapleton Hill neighborhood, Boulder’s largest designated historic district (map). Directly west of the hotel.

Hiking

Hike Mt. Sanitas for great views over Boulder. Note that it is strenuous, steep, and can be muddy and/or icy in the winter if there has been recent snow. Typically takes ~2h to complete.

Near campus

Boulder Creek Path

Walk along the Boulder Creek Path. This multi-use path is adjacent to both main and East campuses and follows Boulder Creek from the mouth of Boulder Canyon through downtown and to the east part of Boulder.

Chautauqua Park

Hike in Chautauqua Park and the Flatirons (can be walked to from main campus by following Baseline Ave). There are many trails of varying degrees of difficulty originating here as well as a historic dining hall, auditorium, cottages, and lawn/picnic area.

Main Campus

Explore main campus with a self-guided tour. Coffee available in many buildings, including ATLAS, the Engineering Center, Norlin Library, the University Memorial Center, and Center for Community (C4C).

Contact

Please direct questions to rnaworlds@simplemeetings.com

Search

RNA Worlds Conference

Organizing Committee

Tom Cech

John Atkins

Jennifer Doudna

Venki Ramakrishnan

Joan Steitz

Jack Szostak

Additional confirmed participants

Registration

Speaker Sessions

The Primordial RNA World

Morning

Afternoon

The Present World of RNA Research

Morning

Afternoon

The World of RNA Medicine

Morning

Afternoon

The Future World of RNA

Morning

Afternoon

The Future and Ethics of Genome Editing

Panel Moderator - Tom Cech (University of Colorado Boulder)

Getting Here

Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building

Macky Auditorium

Boulder Activities

Near the hotel

Drinks & live music

Coffee

Shopping & dining

Take a walk

Hiking

Near campus

Contact