Spring 2026 Chancellor's Distinguished Research Lecture

“Travels with RNA Polymerase; When Speed Really Matters,” presented by David Bentley, PhD, FRS. Dr. Bentley is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. Established in 2024, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Lectureship Award recognizes extraordinary research accomplishments by CU Anschutz faculty. It is intended to showcase impactful and innovative research from any research discipline. Two awardees are recognized each year, and the awardees each present a lecture during the fall and spring. The event is hosted by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz. ABOUT THE PRESENTER David Bentley (BA, PhD, Cambridge University with Terry Rabbitts, postdoctoral fellow with Hal Weintraub, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center) is professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and was co-director of the RNA Bioscience Initiative (2016-2022) at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. He previously held group leader positions at the Amgen Institute University of Toronto (1995-1998) and Cancer Research UK (1987-1995). Bentley’s research in mechanisms that control gene expression has focused on two topics: 1) control of transcription by RNA polymerase II at the steps of elongation and termination of RNA chains; and 2) integration of different steps in mRNA biogenesis through coupling mechanisms that coordinate transcription with co-transcriptional pre-mRNA maturation and chromatin modification. Bentley’s “mRNA factory” model, which proposed that coupling works by direct binding of mRNA processing factors to the C-terminal domain of actively transcribing RNA polymerase II, has stimulated an active area of research.