Richard I. Gregory, PhD, an accomplished investigator of molecular mechanisms of RNA regulation in embryonic stem cells and cancer, will join UMass Chan Medical School as the next chair of the Department of Molecular, Cell & Cancer Biology, beginning in December, according to an announcement by Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine.
For the past 18 years, Dr. Gregory has been a part of Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, where he currently serves as professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and principal investigator in the Stem Cell Program in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is also on the faculty at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center; principal faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute; and co-director of the Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine. He was a 2008 Pew Scholar, Research Scholar of the American Cancer Society, and current recipient of an outstanding investigator award from the National Cancer Institute.
Gregory leads a successful and highly collaborative lab. His scientific accomplishments have been published broadly in major journals, such as Nature, Cell and Science, and include pioneering studies that:
- Revealed molecular and cellular mechanisms of microRNA biogenesis;
- Discovered novel RNA quality control and decay pathways;
- Identified the RNA methyltransferases METTL1 and METTL3 as oncogenes and new targets for cancer therapies; and
- Linked changes to the ‘epitranscriptome’ with translational reprogramming in cancer.
“Dr. Gregory has expressed enthusiasm about joining and leading the dedicated faculty and staff in the Department of Molecular, Cell & Cancer Biology at UMass Chan, and about leveraging the institutional strengths in RNA biology, with an eye toward collaborating and engaging with the scientific community to advance new approaches to cancer therapy,” Dr. Flotte said.
He was educated in the United Kingdom, earning a doctoral degree in epigenetics and genomic imprinting at the University of Cambridge, followed by post-doctoral training at Fox Chase Cancer Center and The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia.
Flotte also expressed his deep appreciation for Michelle Kelliher, PhD, the inaugural Our Danny Cancer Fund Chair in Biomedical Research I and professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology, who has served as interim chair of molecular, cell & cancer biology since the untimely and unexpected death of Michael Green, MD, PhD, in early 2023.
“Dr. Kelliher has capably nurtured the department’s mission and impact since assuming the role of interim chair under challenging circumstances and we are grateful for her steadfast professionalism and academic contributions,” he said.
Flotte also recognized Marian Walhout, PhD, for chairing the search committee that resulted in Gregory’s recruitment.
