Dr. Kaitlin Laverty Receives the 2023–24 Barbara Vivash Award

Celebrating the 2023–24 Barbara Vivash Award in Molecular Genetics

On September 15, the Department of Molecular Genetics presented the 2023–24 Barbara Vivash Award, the department’s premier student research award. Established in 2009, the award is given each year to the most outstanding PhD thesis and includes a monetary prize, a certificate, and the opportunity to present research in the departmental seminar series.

This year’s award was presented to Dr. Kaitlin Laverty for her thesis "On the RNA-binding Specificities of RNA-binding Proteins", co-supervised by Dr. Tim Hughes and Dr. Quaid Morris. Kaitlin’s research bridges computation and experimentation to deepen our understanding of how proteins interact with RNA.

She developed Priestess, a new method that integrates sequence and structural information to better model RNA–protein binding. Her findings provide tools for predicting the impact of genetic variants on gene regulation, with applications in cancer, neurobiology, and human disease.

Barbara Vivash, who joined the event virtually, reflected on the history of the award and her long-standing support for genetics research. She shared her pride in seeing the award highlight the work of young scientists, and encouraged attendees to look around the room at their colleagues as a reminder of the “enormous and impressive body of medical and scientific research and breakthroughs” being carried out in the department. She closed with a memorable line: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

Introducing the award, Dr. Tim Hughes described it as the department’s premier student research distinction and praised Kaitlin’s achievements as a graduate student, including her leadership in collaborative projects, contributions to teaching, and her ability to deliver presentations that colleagues ranked among the best in decades.

Following the presentation of the award, Kaitlin delivered her seminar to fellow faculty, trainees, and guests. She concluded by thanking her supervisors, committee members, and the Vivash family for their support.

Now a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Kaitlin continues to expand on her expertise and advance research at the intersection of computational biology and molecular genetics.