Fundraising and Philanthropy Advisory Board

Dr. Marlene Belfort is a Distinguished Professor at the University at Albany and a senior advisor of the RNA Institute. Dr. Belfort has a noteworthy scientific career, including the discovery and description of prokaryotic introns, for which she received the RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award. Dr. Belfort is an advocate for women in science and has written a book called Mommy, Can Boys Also Be Doctors? about balancing professional and family life. She is a member of several prestigious societies, including
the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Lynne Maquat is the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester and founding director of the Center for RNA Biology. Dr. Maquat’s scientific career includes the discovery of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay in human disease and foundational work on mechanisms that regulate mRNA quality and turnover. Dr. Maquat is an advocate for women in science and founded Graduate Women in Science at the University of Rochester. She has received
multiple awards, including the RNA Society Lifetime Achievement Awards in Service and in Science, and is a member of several prestigious societies, including the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. John Abelson is the George Beadle Professor of Biology, Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Abelson’s scientific career focuses on RNA processing, including foundational work on splicing, particularly tRNA splicing and RNA ligation. He was a cofounder of the Agouron Institute, which formed the basis of Agouron Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Abelson received the RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award and is a past president of the RNA Society. He is a member of several
prestigious societies, including the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. David Bartel is a Professor of Biology at MIT, member of the Whitehead Institute, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Dr. Bartel’s scientific career includes foundational work on small RNAs and post-transcriptional gene regulation. His lab helped define microRNAs and their regulatory targets, including work showing the broad impact of microRNAs on human gene expression. He is a cofounder of Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Bartel has received multiple awards, including the NAS Award in Molecular Biology, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Brenda Bass is a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Adjunct Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Bass’s scientific career includes the discovery of ADAR/A-to-I RNA editing activity and foundational research on innate immune responses to double-stranded RNA. Dr. Bass received the RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award for her contributions to the RNA editing field. She is a member of several prestigious societies, including the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald is the Chief Scientific Officer at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Fitzgerald’s research focuses on RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, including the development of targeted delivery approaches that enable durable gene silencing in human disease. His work has contributed to the translation of RNAi from a biological mechanism into a clinically validated therapeutic platform, including development of PCSK9-targeting siRNA approaches for cholesterol lowering, clinically approved as Leqvio.

Dr. Adrian Krainer is the St. Giles Foundation Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Deputy Director of Research of the CSHL Cancer Center. Dr. Krainer has a noteworthy scientific career in RNA splicing, including foundational work on the mechanisms of pre-mRNA splicing and therapeutic correction of splicing defects. His work helped enable the development of Spinraza, the first FDA-approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy. Dr. Krainer, a past president of the RNA Society, has received multiple awards, including the RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Andreas Kuhn is Senior Vice President of RNA Biochemistry and CMC Development at BioNTech. Dr. Kuhn’s career includes work on small non-coding RNAs as well as spliceosome-associated RNA-protein interactions using biochemical, molecular and genetic tools, and the development and continuous optimization of mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines. He has helped advance RNA technologies by improving mRNA efficacy and by developing GMP-compatible manufacturing processes for mRNA, which supported the development of the COVID-19 vaccine by BioNTech.

Dr. Melissa Moore is a distinguished RNA scientist and biotechnology leader who served as Chief Scientific Officer of Platform Research at Moderna. Dr. Moore’s scientific career includes foundational work on pre-mRNA splicing and mRNA regulation as well as development of mRNA therapeutic platforms. At Moderna, she led research teams focused on mRNA design and delivery, including technologies that supported rapid development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Moore has received the RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award and is a member of several prestigious societies, including the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Hari Pujar is a global biopharmaceutical executive with >25 years’ experience building platforms and products in vaccines, biologics, mRNA, and gene therapy. He is Chief Operating Officer of Tessera Therapeutics as well as founding President/Board Director of Mirai Bio and Board Director of Ring Therapeutics. He has held senior roles including Operating Parter at Flagship Pioneering, Chief Technology Officer at Spark Therapeutics, Head of Technical Development & Manufacturing at Moderna, and franchise leader for Merck’s multi-billion-dollar pediatric and adult vaccine portfolio. Dr. Pujar holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and an MBA from the Wharton School. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.

Dr. Renée Schroeder is Professor Emerita of RNA Biochemistry at the University of Vienna. Dr. Schroeder’s scientific career includes work on how RNA structure contributes to RNA function and how RNA chaperones influence RNA folding. Dr. Schroeder has been active in science communication and advocacy for women in science. She is the author of several popular science books and was editor-in-chief of the journal RNA Biology. She has received several major honors, including the Wittgenstein Award, was named an Honorary Senator of the University of Vienna, and was elected to the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Erik Sontheimer is the Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research and a Professor in the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He is Vice Chair of the RNA Therapeutics Institute. Dr. Sontheimer’s research focuses on RNA-mediated gene regulation, including regulation of splicing, small interfering RNAs and CRISPR. His lab helped establish that CRISPR systems can target DNA directly, and he is a co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics. Dr. Sontheimer has received several honors, including the RNA Society Mid-Career Award, and was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology.

Dr. Gene Yeo is a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California San Diego and Director of the UCSD Center for RNA Technologies and Therapeutics. Dr. Yeo’s scientific career includes both computational and experimental RNA biology, including work on RNA-binding proteins, RNA processing, neurodegenerative disease and RNA-targeted therapeutics. He is the founding Chief Scientist for Sanford Laboratories for Innovative Medicine. His lab has developed widely used approaches for mapping RNA-protein interactions and studying RNA regulation at the level of the transcriptome. Dr. Yeo has received multiple awards, including the RNA Society Elisa Izaurralde Award and the inaugural Sydney Brenner Medal.