The RNA Society Announces the winner of the 2026 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award
Dr. Brenda L. Bass
Dr. Brenda Bass, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah School of Medicine, is recognized for her groundbreaking discovery of A-to-I editing and outstanding contributions to this field. As a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Harold Weintraub, Brenda discovered an activity that covalently modified double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), the first member of an enzyme family now known as the Adenosine deaminases that act on RNA (ADARs).
As an independent PI, along with along with collaborators, she provided the first 3D-structure of an ADAR, showing that it contained a previously unrecognized cofactor, inositol hexakisphosphate, or IP6. Brenda and her lab defined ADAR specificity and identified natural ADAR substrates, established the biological relevance of editing, and laid the foundation for the subsequent discovery—first made by Dr. Mary O’Connell’s research group—that RNA editing plays a critical role in innate immunity and antiviral defense, with major implications for therapeutic development. Expanding on the world of dsRNA, Brenda and her lab determined genome-wide maps of dsRNA (dsRNAomes), provided models and experiments that established Dicer's role in RNA silencing, and, with collaborators, determined Dicer's structure bound to dsRNA.
In addition to her scientific discoveries, Brenda is an inspiring figure at all levels, for her deep thought and analytical rigor, her outstanding mentorship, and her generous service to the community. Brenda has served the RNA Society as President (2007), Director (1998-1999, 2004-2005) and organizer for the Cold Spring Harbor RNA Processing meeting in 1995 (the precursor to today's RNA Society meeting), and the RNA Society Annual Meeting in 2019. For her outstanding contributions to RNA science and the RNA Society, we celebrate Dr. Brenda Bass with the 2026 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement in Science Award.
Dr. Bass received her BA in Chemistry from Colorado College, and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder, working on ribozymes in the lab of Dr. Tom Cech. In 1985, she moved to the lab of Dr. Harold Weintraub (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle) for her postdoctoral fellowship, and in 1989, obtained an independent position in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where she is currently Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Human Genetics. Dr. Bass is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 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).
