Nilufer Ertekin-Taner, M.D., Ph.D., Enterprise Chair, Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic: Thank you, Chris. Good afternoon, everybody. I'm very excited to share with you updates from one of our strategic priorities: The RNA Therapeutics Program. So, what are RNA Therapeutics?
RNA therapies are those cutting-edge treatments that we use for complex diseases. And, at Mayo Clinic, we are transforming the care for complex and serious disorders, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic diseases. These diseases require a precision medicine approach because of their complexity. A precision medicine approach is giving the right patient the right treatment at the right time, and RNA therapeutics provides us with that capability. So, with this in mind, we set out the vision for the RNA Therapeutics Program about three years ago.
What is this vision? This vision is to become a global leader in RNA-driven cures through discovery, manufacturing, commercialization and clinical trials utilizing these RNA therapies to prevent and care these complex diseases. Three years ago, we set out the RNA Program strategy. The pillars support the goals of the program that I just shared with you. The pillars encompass: Talent, Infrastructure, Partnerships and our most important pillar, making Clinical Impact for our patients through RNA therapies.
So, how are we making this impact? What is the tangible impact of the program? We're doing this in several different ways. For example, just in October of 2025, we opened the RNA Therapeutics facility the RNA Synthesis Core.
- RNA Facility:
- Mayo Clinic Florida campus, Birdsall 225 room
- Grand opening Fall 2025
Services: Oligonucleotide synthesis, mRNA synthesis, Lipid Nanoparticle synthesis, Consultations
Data Compute & Storage: Latest software suite and tools that enable precise characterization of particle size and subpopulation across a wide concentration range
We can go to the next slide. This facility makes us exceptionally unique in the sense that we are now a center that can manufacture for research and discovery RNA therapies and can package them at a rate that's unprecedented for a healthcare place, for a center like Mayo Clinic. Next slide, please.
And, another way that we're transforming the RNA Therapeutics Program with future transformation of medicine is through bringing together key opinion leaders both within and outside of Mayo Clinic through our RNA discoveries and therapeutic conference. We held the inaugural conference last year, and please save the date for next year's, for the following conference, for the second conference that will be held in December.
Mayo Clinic RNA Discoveries and Therapeutic Conference
- 2025:
- 20 External speakers
- 21 Internal speakers
- 7 Plenary talks
- 5 Panels
- 2026:
- Save the date:
- Dec. 2-4, 2026
- Hilton Jacksonville at Mayo Clinic
And you can read more about the transformation that we're making through our RNA Therapeutics Program by visiting our website, where you can read about what I just told you and more.