Brenda Bass

Dr. Brenda L. Bass is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Human Genetics. She is known for her contributions in defining double-stranded RNA-mediated pathways, including the discovery of ADAR RNA editing enzymes, and models and experiments that established Dicer's role in RNA silencing. During her career her service to the international scientific community includes membership on N.I.H study sections, and several editorial boards, including the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science magazine.

She has received research support from the Pew Scholars Program, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the N.I.H., and was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator from 1994-2009. She was elected and served as the President of the RNA Society in 2007 and as a council delegate for the American Association for the Advancement of Science from 2007-2010. In 2009 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in the same year was the recipient of the University of Utah’s H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair. In 2010, she received the University of Utah’s Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award. In 2011, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in the same year received one of the most prestigious honors awarded by the National Institutes of Health, the Director’s Pioneer Award.