Rabitsch Award 2024 for Belén Pacheco-Fiallos
Belén Pacheco-Fiallos, recent PhD graduate from Clemens Plaschka’s lab, has received the 2024 Rabitsch Award in recognition of her pioneering doctoral research on human messenger RNA maturation. Established in 2006, the Rabitsch Award annually recognises the achievements of an exceptional PhD student at the IMP or IMBA.
Belén Pacheco-Fiallos, a recent PhD graduate from Clemens Plaschka’s lab, was announced as the 2024 recipient of the Kirsten Peter Rabitsch Award. Every autumn the award highlights the achievements of a PhD student from either the IMP or IMBA (Institute of Molecular Biotechnology), and this year recognises Pacheco-Fiallos for her groundbreaking work on human messenger RNA (mRNA) maturation. Pacheco-Fiallos successfully defended her thesis earlier this year. The award was presented in a ceremony attended by Hermann Rabitsch, father of Kirsten Rabitsch, after whom the award is named.
During her PhD, Pacheco-Fiallos discovered how cells ensure that only correctly processed mRNAs are exported from the nucleus. Using cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, her work in the Plaschka Lab demonstrated that mRNAs form compact globules prior to their nuclear export, fundamentally revising our understanding of mRNA processing and transport. The findings, published in the journal Nature, showed how the TREX complex organises mRNA molecules, a discovery that has major implications for RNA biology and our knowledge of gene expression.
“I am incredibly proud of the research we’ve accomplished in the Plaschka lab,” said Belén Pacheco-Fiallos. “This award highlights the dedication and teamwork that went into our projects, and I feel fortunate to have been part of such a vibrant and supportive community at the IMP.”
About Belén Pacheco-Fiallos
Belén Pacheco-Fiallos conducted her doctoral studies in Clemens Plaschka’s lab at the IMP. During her PhD, she used cryo-electron microscopy and biochemistry to study mRNA processing and export from the nucleus. In particular, she investigated how mRNA molecules are packaged with proteins to form messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs), which are essential for their proper transport out of the nucleus. In 2024, Pacheco-Fiallos joined Alejandro Burga’s lab at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) as a postdoc, where she is currently researching the mechanism of Toxin-Antidote elements using the model organism C. elegans. She is also dedicated to visual science communication.
About the Rabitsch Award
The Rabitsch Award is named after Kirsten Peter Rabitsch, a former PhD Student in Kim Nasmyth’s lab at the IMP. He was a promising scientist and had just completed his doctorate when he died tragically in Bolivia in 2006. The prize of 2,000 Euro is sponsored jointly by the IMP and Kirsten’s parents Hermann Rabitsch and Joana Krizanits. It is awarded each year during the IMP/IMBA Recess and goes to an exceptional PhD Student from one of the two institutes.
List of Rabitsch Award laureates
About the Vienna BioCenter PhD Program
Belén Pacheco-Fiallos was a doctoral student of the Vienna BioCenter PhD Program. Are you interested in a world-class career in molecular biology? Find out more and apply in the current call until 15 October: https://training.vbc.ac.at/phd-program/
Further Reading
“mRNA recognition and packaging by the human transcription-export complex”. Nature (2023)
Related links:
Plaschka lab
www.belenpacheco.com