麻豆村

As the global population ages, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia are on the rise. These diseases have no cure, and many of the molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Roy Parker aims to change that.

Parker has spent decades unraveling how RNA is regulated, degraded, and stored 鈥� and how errors in those processes cause disease. Now he鈥檚 applying that expertise to neurodegeneration.

鈥淲ith my history in RNA biology and understanding, I tend to look at neurodegenerative diseases through the lenses of RNA biology. And that's a different perspective than many people in the field. Hopefully that allows us to see some things that others don't,鈥� said Parker, the Cech-Leinwand Endowed Chair of Biochemistry and Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder; an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and executive director of the BioFrontiers Institute.

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, occur when neurons lose function and ultimately die due to the buildup of aberrant, misfolded proteins. Clumps of the tau protein, for example, are implicated in more than 25 different neurodegenerative diseases and cause about 80% of dementia cases.

鈥淢any of these proteins that aggregate are RNA-binding proteins. It turns out that tau is a really good RNA-binding protein, although most people don鈥檛 think of it that way,鈥� Parker said.

Personal connections to these diseases inspired Parker to pivot his research.

鈥淲e understand so little from the biological perspective, and there's also a really interesting connection to RNA,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, there鈥檚 a place for someone like me 鈥� an RNA biologist 鈥� to make a contribution to understanding what鈥檚 actually going on.鈥�

This isn鈥檛 the first time Parker has shifted his career focus. As an undergraduate chemistry major at 麻豆村, Parker said he had every intention of going to medical school 鈥� until he met Professor Elizabeth Jones, the beloved teacher, mentor and advocate for student research.

鈥淪he completely changed my life,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淏ecause of her mentorship and working in her lab, I came to realize that understanding how genes work and how cells control things is really kind of cool and I got excited about that.鈥�

Around the same time, RNA splicing was discovered, and the thought of studying something completely unknown appealed to Parker. Now, he is considered a global leader in RNA biology.

Parker is well-known for uncovering the mechanisms that regulate how RNAs are degraded in human cells. The complex process is crucial for regulating gene expression and removing defective RNA molecules. When the process goes awry, such as when RNAs get degraded that shouldn鈥檛 be or when RNA escapes degradation and accumulates to toxic levels, diseases like Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia and some forms of muscular dystrophy can arise.

鈥淲e started out a couple decades ago just trying to understand what happened to these RNAs. This is really fundamental, basic research,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淏ut understanding the mechanism allowed us to have insights into what might be going on in some human diseases. We had no idea that we were ever going to have an impact on the clinic.鈥�

Along with investigating RNA degradation, Parker has made fundamental discoveries into how RNA aggregates in cells. And since RNA can form aberrant structures in cells like protein can, he wondered whether RNAs might be involved in diseases of tau aggregation, including Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

His lab is working to better understand the relationship between tau and RNA in cells, how RNA might impact tau aggregation, and how manipulating this interaction could lead to new therapeutic strategies. Parker鈥檚 team has identified the molecules that enhance tau aggregation, including a protein that Parker thinks is really important in tau pathologies 鈥� the RNA binding protein SRRM2. Recent research from his lab found that tau aggregates preferentially grow off the surface of RNA/protein granules containing SRRM2 and some RNAs.

Throughout his career, Parker has served on several editorial boards, was the president of the RNA Society, and is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and member of the National Academy of Sciences. And, like his Carnegie Mellon mentor Beth Jones, he鈥檚 strived to cultivate a lab culture focused developing curiosity, rigor, and scientific integrity.

His exceptional contributions to cultivating the next generation of RNA scientists was recognized by the RNA Society with its 2025 RNA Society / Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press Distinguished Research Mentor Award. He has trained over 60 PhD students and postdoctoral fellows as well as many undergraduates, all of whom are engaged in some type of scientific career.聽

鈥淎s professors, one of the most profound things we do is change young people's lives. And it's kind of intimidating but, if you do it well, it's an opportunity to help them find their path.鈥�