Steps Towards the human RNome Project
2021
2024
On January 8 to 10, 2024 in Rhode Island, the International Human RNome Project Consortium held our first meeting:
It kicked off the initial step of the Human RNome Project.
Discussions ranged from standards for technology development, reference cell lines and data format as well as databases.
The Consortium members worked towards a manuscript to highlight the first steps of the project.
On May 8th, 2024, a Congressional Briefing on RNA was held. US Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Mukesh Jain (Brown University) and Vivian Cheung (University of Michigan) made introductory remarks. Panel presentations moderated by Fred Tyson (NIH) covered:
RNA & heath by Drew Weissman (University of Pennsylvania)
RNA & data storage by Olgica Milenkovic (University of Illinois)
RNA & crops by Brian Gregory (University of Pennsylvania)
RNA & national security by Ryan Morhard (Ginkgo Bioworks)
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) has released its consensus report titled “Charting a Future for Sequencing RNA and Its Modifications.”
2025
1st Human RNome Project Consortium Workshop
Our first meeting took place on August 4–9 at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, focusing on identifying and quantifying RNA chemical modifications. Parallel breakout sessions covered non–mass spectrometry direct RNA sequencing methods, biological implications, and data storage.
Our first meeting report, “Unlocking the regulatory code of RNA: launching the Human RNome Project,” the report outlines the Consortium’s coordinated plan to define the complete set of human RNA molecules and their chemical modifications.
Call to Action
A scientific article in Nature Genetics calling for technologies to sequence full-length RNAs with all of their modifications.
First International Human RNome Project Consortium Meeting
Congressional Briefing
NASEM Consensus Report & Science News Coverage
A Science News article was published in March 2024 by Science reporter, Elizabeth Pennisi, titled “RNA deserves its own massive counterpart to the Human Genome Project, researchers argue.”
2026
2nd Human RNome Project Consortium Workshop
Our second meeting took place on July 21–24 at SickKids Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning in Toronto, Canada, focusing on unveiling a consensus draft of the RNA sequence.
