Jeremy E. Wilusz, an assistant professor of biochemistry & biophysics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Rita Allen Foundation in July. He will receive $100,000 per year for five years as a 2015 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar.

Dr. Wilusz studies circular RNAs, a recently discovered version of ribonucleic acid. He and his team seek to describe and understand how circular RNAs are generated and regulated and how they function. They also investigate whether circular RNAs are mis-regulated in various diseases, such as cancer, and if they can be therapeutically targeted against the diseases in which they may play a role.