Presented by Radhika Mathur, Ilana Kelsey, and Matt Schwartz

DNA contains the information your cells need to perform their functions but if every cell in your body contains identical DNA, how can one cell become a blood cell, another a muscle cell, and even another a brain cell?! The answer lies in RNA, the dynamic messenger of DNA’s information. RNA determines the functions and fate of each cell in your body. Even more than that, recent research in the RNA field has yielded unexpected ways that it is utilized by the cell and exciting new opportunities to harness RNA against various diseases. This lecture will first introduce you to the world of RNA, explaining its major messenger roles and its dynamic regulation. Next, we will delve into some of the newly appreciated non-messenger roles of RNA. Finally, we will finish with how recent RNA technologies have generated novel therapeutics to treat diseases from cancers to Huntington’s Disease. Come, and get let in on the secret, the secret life of RNA!