THINC News - 2022
Dr. Monica Pillon is featured in the RNA Society Spotlight
October 18, 2022 - Dr. Pillon, THINC faculty member and assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and her work are the focus of the most recent RNA Society Spotlight.
THINC brings together RNA community for ‘Science & Sip’ Event
October 14, 2022 - THINC hosted the first annual “Science & Sip” happy hour and poster session. Congratulations to Ashley Hayden, Courtney Chambers and Ritwika Bose for winning this year’s best poster prizes! Thank you to all that attended!
Dr. Hoda Zoghbi wins Elaine Redding Brinster Prize
September 30, 2022 - Dr. Hoda Zoghbi, director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital and THINC member, has been awarded the second Elaine Redding Brinster Prize in Science or Medicine from the Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is being recognized for her work pinpointing the underlying, genetic causes of a pair of devastating neurological diseases.
dr. Courtney Hodges awarded grants to improve cancer therapy
September 8, 2022 - Dr. Courtney Hodges, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology and THINC member, was awarded two grants to study investigational drugs targeting the chromatin regulatory complex SWI/SNF in neuroblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia. An R01 award from the National Cancer Institute and a grant from the Adrienne Helis Malvin Medical Research Foundation will together bring more than $3 million to improve epigenetic therapies against these cancers.
Dr. Monica Pillon Receives NIGMS Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award
August 5, 2022 - Dr. Pillon received an R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Resarch Award (MIRA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to fund her research into how dysregulated RNA modifiers can contribute to the basic molecular mechanisms driving disease-relevant mitochondrial RNA processing pathways. Congratulations!
Pillon Lab Member selected for Molecular Biophysics Training Program
August 1, 2022 - Justin Van Riper, graduate student in Dr. Monica Pillon’s laboratory, was selected to participate in the competitive Gulf Coast Consortia/Keck Center’s Houston Area Molecular Biophysics Training Program. Congrats Justin!
Thinc faculty welcome incoming graduate students
August 1, 2022 - To celebrate RNA day this year, THINC faculty hosted a meet-and-greet for incoming graduate students. Faculty members provided brief introductions to the exciting opportunities available in their labs and enjoyed getting to know our new students. A big THINC welcome to all incoming Baylor students!
DR. TOM COOPER AWARDED THE STEINERT AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
June 30, 2022 - Dr. Cooper, professor of pathology and immunology and THINC member, was awarded the Steinert Award for Excellence in Myotonic Dystrophy Basic Science Research at the 13th International Myotonic Dystrophy Consortium Meeting held in Osaka, Japan
DR. JEFF ROSEN HONORED WITH 2022 WILLIAM L. MCGUIRE MEMORIAL LECTURE AWARD
June 28, 2022 - A pioneer in the fields of mammary gland biology and endocrinology, Dr. Rosen will receive the William L. McGuire Memorial Lecture Award at the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December. He will present a lecture titled "Leveraging preclinical models for translational breast cancer research." This award recognizes his extraordinary contributions to preclinical and translational breast cancer research and his commitment to transdisciplinary collaboration and mentoring of early-career scientists.
DR. TONY MUSTOE NAMED 2022 BECKMAN YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARDEE!
June 24, 2022 - Dr. Tony Mustoe was selected to the 2022 class of Beckman Young Investigator Awardees. Through this award, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation supports young faculty members in early stages of their academic careers in chemical and life sciences. Dr. Mustoe was chosen from a pool over more than 225 applicants; he is one of 10 winners.
THINC Member Dr. James Martin’s Congenital Heart Disease study published in Nature
June 22, 2022 - Dr. James Martin and colleagues performed comprehensive genomic analyses of pediatric congenital heart disease (CHD) patient hearts in order to develop a cellular atlas of CHD. The study uncovered key molecular insights into CHDs and provides a clear avenue for clinician-scientists to develop novel CHD therapies.
The chameleon arrived in the pillon lab!
June 13, 2022 - The Pillon Lab is gearing up for high-speed cryo-EM sample preparation!
Dr. huda zoghbi named the 2022 kavil prize laureate in neuroscience
June 1, 2022 - Dr. Huda Zoghbi, pioneering neurologist at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, has been awarded the prestigious 2022 Kavil Prize in the field of neuroscience.
thinc faculty attend 27th annual the rna society meeting
May 31, 2022 - Furqan Fazal, Eric Van Nostrand, Monica Pillon, Tony Mustoe, and Jeremy Wilusz attend 27th Annual Meeting of the RNA Society in Boulder, CO.
Dr. Jeremy Wilusz and colleagues publish circular RNA review
May 24, 2022 - Dr. Wilusz’s collaborative review with Li Yang and Ling-Ling Chen on circular RNAs is published in Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology.
Top educational leaders recognized at Baylor College of Medicine
May 19, 2022 - THINC member and professor of psychiatry research, Dr. Thomas Kosten, received the 2022 Clark Faculty Service Award which honors faculty members that represent their professions and Baylor’s mission, vision and values at the highest level and have made significant, enduring contributions to the College. Congratulations to Dr. Kosten and all those honored!
An updated single-end enhanced CLIP protocol is published by Dr. Eric Van Nostrand
March 23, 2022 - Dr. Van Nostrand and colleague’s updated eCLIP protocol (along with extensive details on both the experimental and analysis sides) is published at Nature Protocols.
Dr. Jeremy Wilusz publishes in Nucleic Acid Research
March 4, 2022 - Yuxi Ai, graduate student of Dr. Wilusz, published work on the specificity and efficiency of CRISPR/Cas13 effectors in NAR.
Baylor receives more than $15.6 Million in cprit funding
February 17, 2022 - Drs. Jeffrey Rosen, Distinguished Service Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Bing Zhang, Professor in the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics and McNair Scholar, are each awarded Individual Investigator Research Awards by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
Dr. Eric Van Nostrand and colleagues publish novel method to map micro-RNA binding sites
February 14, 2022 - Dr. Van Nostrand collaborated with colleagues at UCSD and Eclipse BioInnovations to develop and validate a chimeric eCLIP protocol for mapping miRNA targets. They released a pre-print of their manuscript describing this method.