A new club at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign aims to bring together RNA researchers from across campus to share ideas, expertise, and cultivate collaborations.

The RNA club is open to all, including faculty, research scientists, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates. Anyone who has an interest in RNA research and connecting with the RNA community is welcome to attend meetings.

"We created the RNA Club because we saw an incredible opportunity to unite the diverse RNA research happening across our campus," said Hong Jin, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and club founder. "Our goal is to create a dynamic space where researchers at all career stages can share their work, form new collaborations, and collectively advance our understanding of RNA biology. The monthly format will allow us to build lasting relationships and maintain momentum in our discussions."

"The club will also provide an important platform to train our next-generation RNA scientists," Jin added.

The vibrant RNA research community at Illinois was recently highlighted by a major RNA Technology Workshop held in November 2023 at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. The workshop brought together leading experts like Taekjip Ha from Harvard Medical School and Jim Eberwine from the University of Pennsylvania, alongside Illinois faculty working on cutting-edge RNA technologies and biology. This event exemplifies the university's strong commitment to advancing RNA research across disciplines.

"The RNA research community at Illinois is particularly exciting right now because we have researchers working across the entire spectrum - from developing new sequencing technologies and studying RNA modifications to understanding RNA's role in disease," said Boxuan Zhao, one of the organizing committee members and Assistant Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology. "With recent breakthroughs in RNA technologies and therapeutics, including the success of RNA vaccines, there's never been a more important time to strengthen our RNA research community."

The club will meet monthly from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays in 217 Noyes Laboratory, 505 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, with the inaugural meeting on February 13, 2025. Each meeting will feature two 30-minute talks followed by a social with food and drinks to encourage further discussion and collaboration.

The first meeting will feature talks by Boxuan Zhao on "Decoding the Brain: RNA Technologies as Windows into Mammalian Neural Structure and Function" and Yan Zhang on "Coming in from the COLD: A New Avenue to Explore Post-transcriptional Regulation."

Future meetings are scheduled for March 13, April 17, and May 8, 2025. The May meeting will be a mini-symposium.

Those interested in joining or learning more about the RNA Club can visit its website or contact Professor Hong Jin at hjin@illinois.edu.

Club organizers include:

• Hong Jin, Associate Professor of Biochemistry
• Nash Kalsotra, Professor of Biochemistry
• Yan Zhang, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
• Chang Cui, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
• Boxuan Zhao, Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology

Student committee members including Andy Briercheck, Subhashis Natua, Sounak Saha, and Joe Wan.

The club has received funding from the RNA Society for the first year.