University Research Lecture Series begins Wednesday

Nobel Laureate Thomas Cech will discuss his groundbreaking RNA research as a presenter in the 2003-04 University Research Lecture Series at 5 p.m. Wednesday (10/1) at the Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute Auditorium, 473 W. 12th Ave. The lecture, followed by a reception, is sponsored by the Ohio State Office of Research and The Ohio State University Medical Center. The event is free and open to the public.

From a simple pond organism, Cech discovered the first example of a biochemical reaction catalyzed by RNA that led to an explosion of research in the biological sciences and a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1989.

Currently, Cech is a professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder and has served as president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md., since 2000. His presentation is titled, “From Catalytic RNA to Howard Hughes.”

The lecture series was developed in March 2002 by the Office of Research to bring world-renowned researchers to the Columbus campus for a discussion of global ideas and issues. Cech is the sixth lecturer to appear in the series.

WHAT: University Research Lecture Series featuring Nobel Laureate Thomas Cech.

WHEN: 5 p.m. Wednesday (10/1).

WHERE: Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute Auditorium, 473 W. 12th Ave.

WHY: To discuss his work as a world-renowned leader in RNA research.