Craig Mello

Distinguished Professor
Nobel Laureate
UMass Medical School Office of Tech Management

Dr. Craig Mello is an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine, and co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Mello's current research remains focused on the regulation and propagation of genetic information, investigating how proteins use short segments of genetic code (20-30 nucleotides of RNA) to recognize and regulate specific genes. These proteins, called Argonaute (AGO) proteins, use short segments of RNA code - "guide RNAs" - to facilitate chemical recognition through base-pairing with specific mRNAs present in the cell. The Mello lab uses C. elegans to investigate the role of AGO pathways in living organisms and in epigenetic inheritance, the inheritance of gene silencing patterns.

His collaborative work with Dr. Andrew Fire led to the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), for which they shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. RNAi allows researchers to suppress the expression of specific genes, which can help define the biological functions of those genes. RNAi also provides a therapeutic avenue to silence genes that contribute to disease. Dr. Mello has received numerous awards for his research in addition to his Nobel Prize, including the 2003 Wiley Prize, the 2003 National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, the 2004 Warren Triennial Prize, the 2005 Canada Gairdner International Award, and the 2005 Massry Prize. His articles appear in EMBO, Cell, and Nature, among other prominent journals.