Recognition of self and nonself dsRNA in vertebrates and invertebrates

Dr. Brenda L. Bass is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. She is known for her contributions in defining double-stranded RNA-mediated pathways, including the discovery of ADAR RNA editing enzymes, and models and experiments that established Dicer's role in RNA silencing. Dr. Bass obtained a B.A. in chemistry from Colorado College, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center prior to joining the faculty of the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Bass is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2007 she was elected and served as President of the RNA Society. She has received research support from the Pew Scholars Program, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and her National Institutes of Health support includes a Director’s Pioneer Award (2011) and Transformative Research Award (2020).