Page 10 - Abacoa Community News - March '23

Page 10, Abacoa

The Scripps Research Institute from page 9 “Correct number and correct composition of ribosomes president of the international Max Planck Society, was a
is a key to cell health,” Karbstein concluded. particular delight for the South Florida scientific community.
RNA Symposium Attracts Thought Leaders Anna Marie Pyle, a professor at Yale University and In preparation for his presidency in June 2023, Cramer is
In Basic And Translational Research HHMI and a past president of the RNA Society who is visiting each Max Planck location around the world – MPFI
More than 175 people attended “RNA: From Biology exploring development of antimicrobials that act on the is the only Max Planck Institute in the United States.
to Drug Discovery” at The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps organisms’ unique RNA, called the meeting a historic About International MPS President-Elect Dr. Patrick
Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology on Jan. gathering of RNA leaders. She praised Disney for his Cramer
17 and 18. It was the first major scientific conference at pioneering work showing the druggability of RNA. In June 2022, the Max
the institute since the pandemic began, and so researchers Organizers offered their special thanks to event Planck Society Senate in
relished the opportunity to share recent work and reconnect. sponsors UF Health, Alphazyme and Sarepta Therapeutics. Berlin unanimously appointed
The conference attracted 18 impressive outside They said plans are in the works for a repeat of the Cramer president-elect of the
speakers, including multiple Howard Hughes Medical symposium in 2025. international society. He will
Institute (HHMI) investigators, members of the U.S. assume the role in June 2023.
National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Max Planck Florida Institute Cramer is a chemist and
Medicine. Incoming Max Planck President-Elect molecular biologist working
Patrick Cramer, Ph.D., shared his structural studies of Science Meets Music At Max Planck Florida as managing director of the
the machinery underlying DNA transcription, featuring Institute For Neuroscience Max Planck Institute for
riveting imaging of transcription complexes in motion. A crowd of Neurosciences in Göttingen,
Faculty who conduct both basic and clinical studies more than 500 Germany. In his lecture, Patrick Cramer, Ph.D.,
involving RNA shared their discoveries in many areas. turned out on Cramer shared his work president-elect of Germany’s
Until recently, RNA was deemed an unsuitable drug target Jan. 18 to enjoy researching how cells grow Max Planck Society speaking
by many in the scientific community. The speakers at the the sounds of the and change in a process at “RNA: From Biology to
symposium showed how much the ground has shifted, Palm Beach Symphony – in tune with a lecture on gene known as gene transcription. Drug Discovery” on Jan. 18,
as they described diverse projects aimed at fungal, transcription at Science Meets Music. Founded in 1948, the with a vivid illustration of
viral, cancer and neurological disease targets, including Science Meets Music, held at the Benjamin Upper Max Planck Society conducts DNA transcription by David
epilepsy, Parkinson’s and ALS. School and presented by Max Planck Florida Institute for research in the natural Goodsell, Ph.D., behind him.
“The fact that 80 percent of the human genome encodes Neuroscience (MPFI), showcases visionary neuroscientists sciences, life sciences, and
RNA while 1 percent encodes protein suggests that there and virtuoso musicians side-by-side. humanities at 86 institutes, facilities, and centers around the
is much to study about this biomolecule to leverage its This resonating performance and lecture series focuses world. With a budget of nearly two billion euros, the society
huge potential to treat disease,” said symposium co- on curiosity and dedication – shared values that drive artists produces more than 15,000 research publications annually
host Matthew Disney, Ph.D., who chairs the chemistry and scientists to explore breakthrough ideas with discipline, and has had 30 Nobel laureates in its storied history.
department at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute. perfection, and attention to detail.
Laura Ranum, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Welcoming featured speaker Dr. Patrick Cramer, incoming Max Planck Florida Institute on page 11
NeuroGenetics at the University of Florida, described
her group’s research leading to a clinical trial of the
drug metformin for treatment of C9orf72 ALS and
frontotemporal dementia. The work may also have
implications for Alzheimer’s disease.
Howard Chang, M.D., Ph.D., of Stanford University
and HHMI, described how his group is harnessing AI and
computational strategies to studies of long noncoding
RNAs in a quest for ways to boost production of immune
cells that can bind pathogens and cancer targets.
Maurice Swanson, Ph.D., associate program director
at UF’s Center for NeuroGenetics and a co-host of the
symposium, discussed his research on unstable genetic
repeats in DNA and their role in diseases such as myotonic
dystrophy type 1 and Huntington’s.
It was clear that advances in basic scientific
understanding have been key to the recent rapid move
toward clinical therapies. Many speakers shared new
insights about DNA transcription and protein assembly
via ribosomes. Cellular stress impacts and quality control
mechanisms were a key focus.
Professor Katrin Karbstein, Ph.D., of The Wertheim UF
Scripps Institute, a co-host of the conference, and Rachel
Green, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine and HHMI, discussed how cellular stress can
lead to ribosome collisions and protein assembly errors,
a likely contributor to cell death and disease.
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Anna Marie Pyle, Ph.D., of Yale University, describes the
unique RNA of pathogenic fungi that present an opportunity
for therapeutics development. Pyle called the symposium 10%
potentially historic for convening so many important figures
in the field.
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