Kansas City, Mo. (April 21, 2006) – Marco Blanchette, Ph.D. — currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Donald C. Rio, Ph.D., at the University of California, Berkeley — has accepted appointment to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research as an Assistant Investigator. He is expected to begin his research at the Institute late in the summer of 2006.

     This appointment brings the Stowers Institute to a total of 18 independent research programs in cellular and molecular biology complemented by three technology centers devoted to bioinformatics, imaging, and proteomics.

     Dr. Blanchette’s research will focus on three areas relating to pre-mRNA splicing: understanding alternative pre-mRNA splicing, a mechanism used by higher eukaryotes to increase the number of different proteins encoded by a genome; identifying factors involved in regulating specific splice junction use; and using biochemical methods to examine detailed molecular mechanisms controlling specific alternative splicing events.

     “All of us at the Institute are very pleased to add Marco Blanchette to our roster of talented Principal Investigators,” said William B. Neaves, Ph.D., President and CEO. “A better comprehension of RNA splicing is fundamental to understanding how genes control the multiplication, differentiation, migration, and death of cells. When things go wrong with these fundamental processes in living cells, a broad spectrum of human diseases can result.”

     RNA splicing holds the key to understanding how all the complicated processes of cellular life in human beings are conducted and regulated by only 23,000 genes. By alternative splicing of the RNA transcripts from a single gene into many different mRNA molecules, a single gene can have many different protein products that perform many different roles in living cells.

     “Dr. Blanchette’s research program is an exciting complement to the expertise of other Stowers researchers who are working to better understand the processes regulating the diversity of mRNA,” said Robb Krumlauf, Ph.D., Scientific Director. “He is a promising young scientist, whom we believe will contribute a great deal to this area of study.”

     Dr. Blanchette holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the Université de Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada, where he also completed his undergraduate degree. He has received the Human Frontier Scientific Organization Long Term Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Governor General of Canada Academic Gold Medal, and the Hoffman-La Roche Award for Graduate Achievement.

About the Stowers Institute
     Housed in a 600,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility on a 10-acre campus in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research conducts basic research on fundamental processes of cellular life. Through its commitment to collaborative research and the use of cutting-edge technology, the Institute seeks more effective means of preventing and curing disease. The Institute was founded by Jim and Virginia Stowers, two cancer survivors who have created combined endowments of $2 billion in support of basic research of the highest quality.