Winners of 2015
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Lifetime Achievement Award
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Fritz Eckstein, PhD
Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine
Dr. Eckstein received a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1960 at the University of Bonn in Germany. This was followed by a postdoctoral time at the University of Toronto for 2 years with Prof. H. Baer synthesising phosphatides. He then moved as a 1962/1963 postdoc to Harvard University with Prof. R. B. Woodward working on the synthesis of vitamin B 12. On returning to Germany he joined the Max-Planck-Institute for experimental medicine in Goettingen in the dept. of Prof. Cramer, subsequently as a group leader, and from 1972 on also as adjunct professor at the University of Goettingen. Read More
Young Investigator Award
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Frank Rigo, PhD
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Biography: In 2002, Frank completed his undergraduate studies in molecular biology and biochemistry at Marquette University. From 2002-2008, Frank earned his Ph.D. at UCLA in the Biochemistry Department under Harold Martinson. There, he dissected the mechanistic basis for how splicing and polyadenylation are interconnected with transcription. This was possible because he developed, for the first time, an in vitro system where pre-mRNA processing and transcription occurred at the same time and were functionally interconnected. Read More
Past Award Recipients:
- 2014: Michael Gantier, PhD, Monash Institute of Medical Research
- 2013: Jonathan K. Watts, PhD, University of Southampton
- 2012: Xianbin Yang, PhD, AM Biotechnologies
Dr. Alan M. Gewirtz Memorial Scholarship
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Jana McCaskill, PhD
University of Edinburgh
Biography: Jana received her PhD in 2014, working with Nigel McMillan at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute (Australia). Her doctoral work focused on the development and systemic liposomal delivery of respiratory syncytial virus and Hendra virus targeted siRNAs. Jana subsequently joined Amy Buck’s lab at the University of Edinburgh,Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution (UK) for postdoctoral studies investigating broad-spectrum host-targeted antiviral miRNAs for the treatment of respiratory viral infections. Read More
Past Scholarship Recipients:
- 2014: Dale Guenther, University of Idaho
- 2013: Guizhi Zhu, PhD, University of Florida
- 2012: Christopher J. Cheng, PhD, Yale University
- 2011: Aurelie Goyenvalle, PhD, University of Oxford
Travel Grants
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The Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society offers Travel Grants for outstanding doctorate graduate students and post-docs. The grant includes a stipend to offset travel expenses for the OTS Annual Meeting.
Brian Adams, Yale University, US
Umar Burki, Newcastle University, UK
Giuseppina Covello, University of Trento, Italy
Petra Disterer, Royal Free Campus, UK
Cristina Fimiani Sissa, Cerebral Cortex Development Laboratory, Italy
Xavier Gerard Inserm, Imagine Institute, France
Saber Ghadakzadeh, Shriners Hospital for Children, Canada
Bethany Powell Gray, Duke University Medical Center, US
Ellen Gyssels, Ghent University, Belgium
Alberto Malerba, School of Biological Sciences, UK
Jana McCaskill, University of Edinburgh, UK
Tomoki Nomakuchi, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, US
Yifat Oren, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Israel
Maire F. Osborn, RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Medical School, US
Dina Polyak, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Sheena Saayman, The Scripps Research Institute, US
Mario Soldevilla, University of Navarra, Spain
Mayumi Takahashi, Beckman Research Institute, US
Anton Turanov, University of Massachusetts Medical School, US
Danielle Vlaho, McGill University, Canada
Poster Awards
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The Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society grants a number of Poster Awards to outstanding students and post docs presenting posters at the OTS Annual Meeting. The posters are judged onsite at the meeting and award winners are chosen based on exceptional and promising science as well as presentation of the data.
2015 Poster Award Winners
Umar Burki, Newcastle University – Poster #009
In vivo Pharmacokinetic and Biodistribution profile of Peptide-Conjugated Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligonucleotides
Alexandre Debacker, University of Southampton – Poster #020
Optimized DNA-PNA chimeras for silencing structured RNAs
Anna Dysko, University of Oxford – Poster #026
Synthesis of Modified Oligonucleotides Containing Triazole Backbones
Ellen Gyssels, University of Ghent – Poster #046
Covalently Locking Nucleic Acid Structures by the Inducible
Furan Cross-link Strategy: New Applications
Marcel Hollenstein, University of Bern – Poster #050
General compatibility of nucleoside triphosphates with rolling circle
amplification
Satish Jadhav, University of Turku – Poster #056
Synthesis of Carbohydrates/Bisphosphonate-Oligonucleotide Conjugates and their PET Imaging
Silvana Jirka, Leiden University Medical Center – Poster #057
¬Evaluation of 2’- deoxy-2’-fluoro antisense oligonucleotides for exon skipping in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Yifat Oren, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences – Poster #089
Restoration of cftr Function by Antisense Oligonucleotide Splicing Modulation
Maire Osborn, RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Medical School – Poster #090
A polyunsaturated fatty acid-siRNA conjugate targeting Huntingtin (Htt) mRNA shows prolonged efficacy, minimal toxicity, and broad distribution in mouse brain
Dina Polyak, Sackler School of Medicine Tel Aviv University – Poster #099
Hindering tumor growth by polymer-based targeted delivery of oligonucleotides
Jurriën Prins, Leiden University Medical Center – Poster #101
Post-Transcriptional Guidance of Monocyte to Macrophage Differentiation by the RNA-Binding Protein Quaking
Lodewijk Toonen, Leiden University Medical Center – Poster #118
Ataxin-3 exon skipping as a treatment strategy for Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 3
Tirsa Van Westering, University of Oxford – Poster #127
Cmah-/-mdx mouse early onset cardiac phenotype and correction of dystrophin by peptide-PMO for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Ann Fiegen Durbin, Harvard University and MIT – Poster #144
Signal Interrupted: How RNAs containing modified nucleotides suppress RIG-I activation
Paper of the Year
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Authors: William “Wes” Salomon, Samson Jolly, Victor Serebrov, Melissa Moore, Phillip Zamore – RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical Center
Presenter:
Victor Serebrov, PhD
RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical Center
Talk Title: Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals that Argonaute Reshapes the Binding Properties of Its Nucleic Acid Guides
Biography: Victor is a research instructor in Melissa Moore and Phillip Zamore labs. Victor is interested in everything RNA, and has been working in the RNA field since his undergraduate years. A biochemist by training, several years ago he turned to single molecule imaging as a perfect tool to study the mechanisms of RNA-protein interactions. This occupation makes him spend long hours in a small microscope room without windows and with walls painted black, but Victor jokes that this is a perfect environment conducive to scientific ‘aha’ moments. Outside scientific research, Victor enjoys time outdoors with his family, building electronics projects and making every appliance in his home controllable with a smartphone. Read Article