Thoru Pederson

Thoru Pederson is the Vitold Arnett Professor of Cell Biology at UMass Chan Medical School and Associate Vice Provost for Research. His pioneering work has transformed understanding of nuclear organization, particularly nucleolar functions beyond ribosome biogenesis, including microRNA localization and stress responses.

His laboratory discovered signal recognition particle (SRP) assembly in the nucleolus and identified nucleolar microRNAs. Current NSF-funded research investigates the nucleolus as a multifunctional domain housing cell cycle regulators and examines nuclear body formation through phase separation mechanisms. His laboratory employs cutting-edge techniques including CRISPR-based genome imaging and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

Pederson has received the Wilhelm Bernhard Medal and Medal of Charles University for nuclear research. He serves on editorial boards for Journal of Cell Biology, Molecular Biology of the Cell, and FASEB Journal, and chairs the Marine Biological Laboratory's Research Awards Committee.

His career contributions include seminal studies on RNA trafficking and nuclear dynamics. Beyond research, he writes extensively on science policy, biomedical ethics, and historical perspectives in cell biology.