Dr. Adrian Krainer – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory – Spinal Muscular Atrophy Medication Breakthrough

Bill Horan and NCC Student Zac Turkel talk with Dr. Adrian Krainer from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. His lab studies the mechanisms of RNA splicing, ways in which they go awry in disease, and the means by which faulty splicing can be corrected. In particular, they study splicing in spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disease that is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. It was recently announced that Dr. Krainer will split one of the most lucrative awards in science — a 3 million dollar Breakthrough Prize — for his research leading to the medication to treat Spinal Muscular Atrophy.