The Expansive Future of RNA The success of the COVID-19 vaccines has catalyzed a revolution in RNA therapeutics. RNA-based therapies provide a highly versatile and adaptable treatment modality without the risks associated with genomic editing. Currently RNA-based treatments for cancer, infectious diseases, and genetic disorder are under active development. In this course we will explore the scientific discoveries that have made this exciting technological advancement possible. Topics will include eukaryotic transcriptional and translational regulation, RNA structure, RNA modifications, and codon optimality. We will also explore the role of small RNAs (tRNAs, miRNAs, siRNAs) in the regulation of gene expression and RNA therapy. (BIOL 0145)  Ethan Strayer (Middlebury class of 2016) is a doctoral candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Antonio Giraldez at Yale University. His work seeks to understand how cis-regulatory elements encoded in an mRNA modulate transcript stability and translational output. This work has resulted in the filing multiple patents, as well as contributed to the launch of RESA therapeutics, a biotech company focused on the development of novel mRNA therapies.

Ethan Strayer

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I loved this J-term course! Ethan was awesome and the concepts he introduced were very interesting. He also gave lots of advice on pursuing a career in this field and it was nice to hear from someone still in graduate school. The work load was a bit higher than most j-term courses but I found it worth it. 

The grading was very hard and the professor expected a lot from a J-term class. Although the material was very interesting, the class was not worth it for me due to its difficulty. We had a 1 hour presentation, a long final paper, and multiple problem sets over the 4 weeks. 

This course was very insightful to the applications of RNA. However the material was dense and was definitely tough to grasp especially if fallen behind on readings. It was a lot of knowledge crammed into a 4 week winter course. I feel this course would be a lot more fruitful as a semester course.