Researcher Matthew D. Disney will present the 10th annual Streck Award Lecture, "Sequence-Based Design of Small Molecules Targeting RNA," at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on April 30.
The Streck Award celebrates scientists whose chemical biology research has significantly improved medicine and human health. An award reception will be held from 3 to 3:30 p.m. in Hamilton Hall, Room 548, followed by professor Disney’s lecture, "Sequence-Based Design of Small Molecules Targeting RNA," from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Hamilton Hall, Room 102. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
Disney serves as institute professor and chair in the Department of Chemistry at the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology in Jupiter, Florida.
Disney is the founding director of the Center for RNA Genomic Medicine and is internationally recognized for his work in RNA-targeted therapeutics. He has made significant contributions to the field, including the development of novel experimental approaches that provide a foundational understanding of RNA-small molecule interactions and a “bottom-up” approach to target RNA.
Disney has authored more than 220 peer-reviewed research publications and is an inventor on numerous patents related to RNA-targeted chemical biology and drug discovery. His research focuses on designing small molecules that bind and degrade disease-causing RNAs, offering new treatment strategies for neuromuscular disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, certain cancers and infectious diseases.
Additional details regarding Disney’s pioneering work and the full list of past honorees can be found on the Streck website. Previous Streck Award Lecture recipients include 2021 awardee professor Carolyn Bertozzi, who was honored the following year with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, highlighting the lectureship’s role in recognizing groundbreaking research.
Launched in 2016, the lecture series is a collaboration between the Department of Chemistry and Streck, an industry-leading Nebraska biotechnology company that develops innovative quality-control and diagnostic products for laboratories.
