Symposium Agenda
49th Annual UNC Lineberger Scientific Symposium
Date: May 4-5, 2026
Location: William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education, Chapel Hill, NC
Theme: “Innovative Directions in RNA Biology and Therapeutics”
Day 1 Schedule | Monday, May 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Welcome | |||
Time | Presentation | Speaker | Speaker Title |
| 8:30 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks | Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD | Executive Director, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Chief of Oncology Clinical Services, UNC Health Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, UNC School of Medicine |
| 8:45 a.m. | Chad V. Pecot, PhD | Professor of Medicine, UNC School of Medicine Director, RNA Discovery Center |
|
Session 1 | Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer | ||
Time | Presentation | Speaker | Speaker Title |
| Moderator | Mauro Calabrese, PhD | ||
| 9 a.m. | "New Regulators of Coding and Noncoding RNAs in Mammals" | Joshua T. Mendell, MD, PhD | Professor of Molecular Biology Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute UT Southwestern Medical Center |
| 9:30 a.m. | "Targeting Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms of Tumor Persistence" | Shobha Vasudevan, PhD | Senior Group Leader, Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR Director of Technology and Innovation Adjunct Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UNC School of Medicine |
| 10 a.m. | Break | ||
| 10:20 a.m. | "Decoding lncRNA Functions in Homeostasis and Cancer Metastasis" | Li Ma, PhD | Professor of Experimental Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Session 2 | RNA Binding Proteins and Modifications in Cancer | ||
Time | Presentation | Speaker | Speaker Title |
| Moderator | Daniel Dominguez, PhD | ||
| 10:50 am. | "Perfect Storm: Breaching of Innate and Adaptive Immunity Through LINE RNA" | Sun Hur, PhD | Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Investigator, Howard Medical Institute Harvard Medical School |
| 11:20 a.m. | "RNA Processing Defects in Cancers" | Daniel Dominguez, PhD | Associate Professor of Pharmacology, UNC School of Medicine |
| 11:50 a.m. | Lunch | ||
Session 3 | Epitranscriptomics in Cancer | ||
Time | Presentation | Speaker | Speaker Title |
| Moderator | Jeremy N. Rich, MD | ||
| 1 p.m. | Earp Lectureship Introduction | Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD | |
| 1:15 p.m. | Inaugural Earp Lectureship Keynote Address: "Gene Expression Regulation by snoRNAs" | Chuan He, PhD | Professor of Chemistry, University of Chicago Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute |
| 2 p.m. | "Kill the Messenger: Targeting RNA in Cancer Stem Cell Therapy" | Jeremy N. Rich, MD, MHS, MBA | Deputy Director for Research & Chief Scientific Officer, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Professor of Neurology, UNC School of Medicine |
| 2:30 p.m. | "N6-Methyladenosine Modification in Cancer Immunity" | Y. Grace Chen, PhD | Assistant Professor of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine |
| 3 p.m. | "Uncovering Novel RNA Regulatory Mechanisms in Normal and Leukemic Stem Cells" | Hanzhi Luo, PhD | Assistant Professor, Cancer Epigenetics Institute, Fox Chase Cancer Center |
Day 2 Schedule | Tuesday, May 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Session 4 | RNA Therapeutics in Cancer | ||
Time | Presentation | Speaker | Speaker Title |
| Moderator | Chad V. Pecot, MD | ||
| 9 a.m. | "Next Generation Immunotherapy via Synthetic Biology: Cell-Type and Tunable Genetic Expression" | Jason L. Luke, MD, FACP, FASCO | Chief Medical Officer, Strand Therapeutics |
| 9:30 a.m. | "From MicroRNA Biology to Clinical Breakthroughs: Advancing MicroRNAs as Anit-Cancer Agents" | Andrea Kasinski, PhD | Deputy Director, Purdue iInstitute for Cancer Research Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University |
| 10 a.m. | "Small-Molecule Targeting of the Human MYC MRNA" | Kevin Weeks, PhD | Professor of Chemistry, UNC-Chapel Hill |
| 10:30 a.m. | "circRNAs and RNAi Therapeutics" | Chad V. Pecot, MD | Professor of Medicine, UNC School of Medicine Director, RNA Discovery Center |
| 11 a.m. | Closing Remarks Poster Session |