In recognition of the outstanding lives and accomplishments of our members, each month we profile two RNA Society members—one Full member and one Student/Post-doctoral Fellow member—as part of our Member Spotlight Series.
Read about your colleagues’ career paths, their advice for succeeding in science, and their favorite RNA!
Featured Spotlights
Khondakar Sayef Ahammed is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Prof. Ambro van Hoof’s lab in the Department of Molecular Genetics at The Ohio State University, USA. Sayef completed his doctoral studies at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Houston, Texas, USA, where he investigated the functions of enzymes involved in eukaryotic RNA processing and degradation pathways, including the RNA exosome complex and tRNA splicing ligase. Written by Dr. Sayma Azeem and edited by Dr. Anna Sherwood, this piece details Sayef’s training and his advice to other trainees.
Dr. Minna-Liisa Änkö is a Professor of Cell Biology at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland, an RNA enthusiast, and the current coordinator of the RNA Salon Program. In this month’s spotlight, written by Dr. Cornelia Kilchert and edited by Julieta Rivosecchi, she traces her journey through RNA science from a chance encounter with alternative splicing to finding her niche in functional RNAomics aimed at understanding how dysregulated RNA processing contributes to human disease. And she shares why, alongside the science, nurturing connections and fostering a sense of belonging among RNA researchers has become just as important to her.
