Jeremy E. Wilusz, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Dr. Wilusz was recruited to Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2021, with the help of a CPRIT Recruitment of Rising Stars award. He received his Ph.D. from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and performed postdoctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Wilusz additionally serves as director of Academic Development of the Therapeutic Innovation Center (THINC), a strategic research center at BCM that seeks to discover fundamental mechanisms of RNA biology and translate these discoveries into early therapeutic development. 

Dysregulated expression of genetic information is a hallmark of cancer, and somatic mutations in regulators of RNA processing are common features of cancer genomes. The mechanisms by which RNAs are made have long been investigated, but it has become clear in recent years that many critical classes of RNAs are regulated in ways that defy accepted dogmas.

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Jeremy E. Wilusz, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Dr. Wilusz was recruited to Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2021, with the help of a CPRIT Recruitment of Rising Stars award. He received his Ph.D. from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and performed postdoctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Wilusz additionally serves as director of Academic Development of the Therapeutic Innovation Center (THINC), a strategic research center at BCM that seeks to discover fundamental mechanisms of RNA biology and translate these discoveries into early therapeutic development. 

Dysregulated expression of genetic information is a hallmark of cancer, and somatic mutations in regulators of RNA processing are common features of cancer genomes. The mechanisms by which RNAs are made have long been investigated, but it has become clear in recent years that many critical classes of RNAs are regulated in ways that defy accepted dogmas. By characterizing these new mechanisms of RNA processing and RNA function, hidden cancer dependencies that drive dysregulated gene expression patterns can be unveiled and novel therapeutic strategies designed.  Dr. Wilusz has been at the forefront of pursuing how non-canonical RNAs are generated, regulated, and function. By combining high-throughput approaches with detailed biochemical studies, Dr. Wilusz has revealed and characterized multiple novel modes of gene regulation, including mechanisms that regulate transcription, RNA stability, RNA 3' end processing, pre-mRNA splicing, RNA localization, and translation..

Dr. Wilusz was previously awarded a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award as well as a NIH Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) Award. He additionally has a strong training record, as multiple postdoctoral fellows from his group have received K99/R00 grants and obtained independent tenure-track positions.

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