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Schoenberg Lectureship

The Schoenberg Lectureship

The Center for RNA Biology (CRB)  launched an annual lectureship in 2023 to honor Dr. Daniel Schoenberg’s nearly quarter century-long leadership of RNA research at OSU and the Midwest. Among his many achievements in his distinguished career, two of Dr. Schoenberg’s key legacies are the founding (along with partner institutions) of the Rustbelt RNA Meeting in 1999 and establishment of the Center for RNA Biology at OSU in 2012. He served as the CRB’s first director from 2012-2018.

The Schoenberg Lectureship is an annual celebration of the triumphs of RNA research with participants from the scientific community and the general public. The lectureship is comprised of two talks, a public lecture and a technical research seminar. By showcasing the remarkable recent achievements and tremendous future potential of RNA research to revolutionize medicine and address big societal challenges, we expect this two-lecture format to capture the interest of the general public and inspire the OSU research community.
 

2025 Schoenberg Lecture
November 9 - 10, 2025

Craig Mello


Dr. Craig Mello
UMass Chan Medical School

Join us for the 3rd Annual Schoenberg Lectureship presented by the Center for RNA Biology in partnership with Science Sundays. Both the lecture and the reception will be held at the Fawcett Center this month.

Nearly 4 billion years ago, an informational fire ignited in Earth’s primordial pools—and it never went out. Molecular life evolved ever-better ways to capture, process, and pass information. Trillions of lineages persisted, each with an internal fire, the genome, constantly capturing molecular sparks from other lineages. Guided-search systems like RNAi channeled and tamed the inferno and ultimately inspired genetic medicines—tiny sparks of life-saving code. Yet life’s logic remains mysterious; many sparks still await discovery. Bring your curiosity (marshmallows optional).

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you kindly RSVP using the updated form below, but registration is not required to attend the lecture. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

RSVP here

Dr. Craig C. Mello received his BSc degree in biochemistry from Brown University in 1982 and received his PhD from Harvard University in 1990. From 1990 to 1994 he conducted postdoctoral research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash. He has been a member of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School faculty since 1995, and a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator from 2000-2024. His pioneering research on RNAi, in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Fire, has been recognized with numerous awards culminating with the prestigious 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  

Sunday, November 9, 2025 - Fawcett Center Conference Theater
Public Lecture co-hosted by Science Sundays
Lecture - 3:00PM - 4:00PM
RNAi: A Molecular Spark in an Information Inferno
Reception - 4:00PM - 5:00PM

Monday, November 10, 2025 - 170 DHLRI
Technical Talk 
TBA
2:00PM - 3:00PM

Past Events

2024 Schoenberg Lectureship - Dr. Adrian Krainer

2023 Schoenberg Lectureship - Dr. Melissa Moore