May Research Rounds
PRiME Research Rounds is a monthly research presentation featuring talks from PRiME Principal Investigators and Fellows. The seminar sessions bring the PRiME community together for engaging discussions!
Date: Friday, May 22, 2026, 1:00 - 2:00PM (Light refreshments will be provided)
Location: Red Seminar Room, Terrence Donnelly Centre, 160 College Street
Speakers:
Amanda E. Hargrove, PhD
PRiME PI
Professor of Chemistry
Director, Centre for Medicinal Chemistry, University of Toronto
"Modulating the conformation and function of RNA with small molecules"
Amanda E. Hargrove is a Canada Research Chair, Professor of Chemistry, and the Director of the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Toronto. Prof. Hargrove earned her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, completed an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology, and began an independent career at Duke University in 2013. Prof. Hargrove joined the University of Toronto as a Professor of Chemistry in 2024 and became Director of the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry in 2025. Prof. Hargrove’s laboratory focuses on developing drug-like small molecule probes to investigate the structure and function of RNA molecules with the goal of identify new therapeutic approaches to human diseases, particularly cancer and viral infection. Recent honors include: the Canada Research Chair in RNA Targeted Drug Discovery, the RNA Society Elisa Izaurralde Award for Innovation in Research, Teaching, and Service; the Sloan Research Fellowship; the American Chemical Society Women Chemists Committee Rising Star Award; and the Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry. Prof. Hargrove serves on the editorial advisory boards of ChemComm, Current Protocols, Medicinal Research Reviews and Supramolecular Chemistry, as a Councilor for the American Chemical Society Division of Biochemistry and Chemical Biology, and on the Board of Directors for the international RNA Society and RNA Canada ARN.
Ruilin Wu
2025 PRiME Fellow
PhD candidate, University Health Network & Faculty of Applied Sciences and Engineering, University of Toronto
"Development of Precision Therapies for Brain Arteriovenous Malformations"
Ruilin Wu is a graduate student in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Dr. Jason Fish. His research focuses on understanding the biological mechanisms underlying brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs), a vascular disease characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth in the brain that significantly increases the risk of hemorrhage and other serious neurological complications. Currently, there are no validated drug therapies for the treatment of bAVMs.
With support from the PRiME Fellowship and in collaboration with Prof. Milica Radisic’s laboratory, Ruilin has developed high-throughput human blood vessel models to enable therapeutic screening and to investigate novel drug treatment strategies for this disease. Working alongside interdisciplinary researchers and clinicians, his team aims to advance the future clinical care of brain arteriovenous malformations by developing safe, effective, and precision-based therapeutic options for patients. Ruilin’s 2025 PRiME Fellowship project is titled ‘Development of Precision Therapies for Brain Arteriovenous Malformations.’