Thoru Pederson

Thoru Pederson's contributions have advanced our understanding of the complex functional organization of the eukaryotic cell nucleus, making key discoveries concerning its RNA-protein and RNA-RNA interactions. A pioneer in deploying live cell interrogations, he introduced the use of fluorescent RNAs for biophysical and microscopic studies of RNA trafficking. He discovered the unusual transcriptional promoter of U6 RNA, which led to its widespread use for expressing short interfering RNAs. Pederson has also recast our understanding of the nucleolus beyond its role in building ribosomes, discovering that it is the site of signal recognition biosynthesis and has other novel functions.  He also endeavors to write and lecture on biomedical science for lay audiences.