Welcome
The 31st Annual Meeting of the RNA Society will be held at the Palais des Congrès in Montréal, Canada from May 26 – 31, 2026.
Organizers:
Julie Claycomb, University of Toronto
Eric Lécuyer, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) / Montreal Clinical Research Institute
Anita Corbett, Emory University
Rotem Karni, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Tsutomu (Tom) Suzuki, University of Tokyo
Mihaela Zavolan, Biozentrum, University of Basel
Keynote speakers:
Archa Fox, University of Western Australia
Jørgen Kjems, Aarhus University
Nahum Sonenberg, McGill University
Special Guests
The Society welcomes and looks forward to celebrating two Lifetime Achievement in Science recipients in Montréal:
The 2026 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award Recipient
Brenda Bass (University of Utah School of Medicine, USA) – the 2026 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award winner. Dr. Bass will present her research lecture and accept her award during the Award Ceremony at the close of RNA 2026 on Saturday, May 30th!
The 2025 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award Recipient
David Tollervey (University of Edinburgh, 2025 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award winner) – Dr. Tollervey was unable to attend RNA 2025 in San Diego to receive his award and is scheduled to attend RNA 2026 and present his award lecture during the meeting in Montréal!
RNA Society Research Presentation Fellowship Program
Apply for support. The RNA Society Research Presentation Fellowship Program aims to increase inclusion and participation at our annual meeting and provides full waivers of the meeting registration fee for current RNA Society members who would otherwise be unable to attend RNA 2026 due to financial considerations.
Childcare, Dependent-Care and Disability Allowance Program
Apply for support. The RNA Society Childcare, Dependent-Care and Disability Allowance Program aims to facilitate the attendance of current RNA Society members with care-giver responsibilities who might not otherwise be able to attend RNA 2026. This program is open to current members at all career states – undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, staff, and full members.Please note only registered meeting attendees will have access to the RNA 2026 meeting spaces. Children of any age are NOT permitted to attend RNA 2026 or be present during scientific sessions, breaks, meals or poster sessions.
Session Chairs
| Name |
Affiliation |
Website |
| Manny Ares |
University of California Santa Cruz |
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| Brenda Bass |
University of Utah |
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| Kristopher Brannan |
Houston Methodist University |
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| Benoit Chabot |
Université de Sherbrooke |
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| Amy Cooke |
Haverford College |
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| Ramana Davuluri |
Stony Brook University |
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| Florian Erhard |
University of Regensburg |
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| Rachel Green |
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, HHMI |
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| Junjie Guo |
Yale University School of Medicine |
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| Markus Hafner |
National Institutes of Health |
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| Amanda Hargrove |
Centre for Medicinal Chemistry, University of Toronto |
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| Michelle Hastings |
Center for RNA Biomedicine, University of Michigan Medical School |
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| Cassandra Hayne |
University of Chicago |
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| Tetsuro Hirose |
Osaka University |
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| Maria Hondele |
Biozentrum, University of Basel |
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| Samer Hussein |
Universite Laval |
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| Cornelia Kilchert |
Justus-Liebig-University Giessen |
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| Markus Landthaler |
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine |
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| Sebastian Leidel |
University of Bern |
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| Chien-Ling Lin |
Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica |
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| Anne Mcbride |
Bowdoin College |
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| Stephanie Moon |
Center for RNA Biomedicine, University of Michigan Medical School |
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| Yunsun Nam |
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
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| Adam Norris |
University of California, Riverside |
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| Eric Van Nostrand |
Baylor College of Medicine |
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| Sebastien Pfeffer |
Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Université de Strasbourg |
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| Thomas Preiss |
Australian National University |
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| Alicia Rogers |
University of Texas at Arlington |
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| Aldema Sas-Chen |
Tel Aviv University |
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| Arneet Saltzman |
University of Toronto |
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| Anna-Lena Steckelberg |
Columbia University |
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| Štěpánka Vaňáčová |
CEITEC, Masaryk University |
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| Franka Voigt |
University of Zurich |
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| Chase Weidmann |
Center for RNA Biomedicine,
University of Michigan Medical School |
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| Steve West |
The Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter |
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| Vihandha (Vi) Wickramasinghe |
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, University of Melbourne |
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| Jessica Willi |
University of Lethbridge |
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More information will be posted as it becomes available, so please check back. In the meantime, plan to attend the RNA Society’s Annual Meeting in May 2026!
