Richard I. Gregory

Richard I. Gregory, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, and Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. He serves as the Stem Cell Biology Endowed Chair for Boston Children's Hospital Department of Pediatrics and is Co-Director of the HMS Initiative for RNA Medicine. His laboratory at Boston Children's Hospital focuses on RNA regulation mechanisms in stem cell pluripotency, development, cancer, and neurological diseases.

Dr. Gregory's research program bridges RNA biochemistry/molecular biology and stem cell research, with a focus on the regulation of microRNAs (miRNAs), messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). His lab has made significant contributions to identifying key molecular mechanisms of stem cell biology, including the regulation of let-7 miRNAs by the RNA-binding protein and pluripotency factor LIN28. His work spans several critical areas:

• RNA biogenesis & decay pathways in human disease
• RNA methylation in gene regulation and cancer (epitranscriptomics)
• MicroRNA stem cell biology
• Development of novel therapeutic approaches for cancer

Dr. Gregory's laboratory has pioneered the field of epitranscriptomics and cancer, providing the first functional evidence linking RNA modifications with cancer development. His innovative research strategy addresses new, unexplored areas of RNA metabolism and disease, with a focus on developing small molecule inhibitors targeting RNA regulatory pathways as potential cancer therapies. The laboratory has published extensively in top journals including Nature, Cell, and Molecular Cell, with recent work focusing on m6A and m7G RNA modifications in cancer.

His laboratory has received significant recognition:

• Stem Cell Biology Endowed Chair for Boston Children's Hospital Department of Pediatrics (2018)

Dr. Gregory has mentored numerous postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to establish successful careers in academia and industry. His laboratory is supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The Gregory Laboratory continues to be at the forefront of RNA biology research with implications for understanding and treating cancer and degenerative diseases.