Dissemination

RNA2Fun actively disseminates its scientific results through conferences, workshops, seminars, and international training initiatives, fostering dialogue between computational and experimental communities working on RNA biology.

Conferences, Workshops, and Talks

2026

• RNA2Fun Workshop – Structure and Function of lncRNAs
  Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, February 9, 2026
  Venue: Auletta seminari, Ex Istituto di Fisiologia Generale (CU026)
  A one-day workshop focused on the structural and functional characterization of long non-coding RNAs, featuring invited talks from computational and experimental research groups.
  📄 Download the workshop flyer (PDF)

  Oral presentations –
  Dark matter really matters?
  M. Ballarino.

  Unveiling the function of muscle-specific lncRNAs: from cell-autonomous to non-cell-autonomous effects
  D. Durante.

  From Structure to Function: Modeling lncRNAs and their Molecular Interactions
  N. Luchetti.

  Comparing RNA Structures: Methods, Tools, and Emerging Directions
  L. Tesei.

  From Structure to Motif Discovery: Abstractions and Pattern Search
  M. Quadrini.

  TripleMatcher: A Computational Framework to Decode RNA Triple Helices
  M. A. G. Matarrese.

• Université de Lausanne – Département des Sciences biomédicales
  Lausanne, Switzerland (upcoming)
  Invited lecture –
  Title to be defined
  M. Ballarino.

• XIV International Day of Awareness and Prevention of Women’s Diseases
  (Tribute to International Women’s Day) (upcoming)
  Invited lecture (Lectio Magistralis) –
  RNA non-codificanti: dal genoma nascosto a nuove ispirazioni terapeutiche
  M. Ballarino.

2025

• SIBBM 2025 – Frontiers in Molecular Biology
  Naples, Italy, June 17–19, 2025

  Poster –
  Understanding determinants and functions of MATR3 binding along HSCHARME intronic sequence
  D. Durante, M. Simula, S. Capurso, G. Buonaiuto, L. Chiodo, L. Tesei, M. Ballarino.

  Poster –
  Dissecting the role of tissue-specific lncRNAs in muscle-nerve interaction using human neuromuscular organoids
  M. Simula, P. Tollis, D. Durante, S. Capurso, G. Buonaiuto, A. Setti, P. Laneve, M. Ballarino.

  🔗 Program website

• CIVIS Blended Intensive Program – “Non-coding RNAs in Health and Disease”
  University of Bucharest, Romania, June 23 – July 4, 2025

  Workshop participation and teaching activities –
  M. Ballarino contributed to the CIVIS training program on ncRNAs and their regulatory roles.

  Invited seminar –
  Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cell proliferation and differentiation
  M. Ballarino.

  🔗 Program website

• European Biophysics Congress (EBSA 2025)
  Rome, Italy, June 30 – July 4, 2025

  Poster –
  Computational Identification and Characterization of RNA Triple Helices
  Matarrese M. A. G., N. Luchetti, M. Quadrini, F. Di Petta, D. Durante, M. Ballarino, L. Tesei, L. Chiodo.

  🔗 Event website
  📦 DOI: 10.1007/s00249-025-01757-9

• Computational Intelligence Methods for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (CIBB 2025)
  Milan, Italy, September 10–12, 2025

  Oral presentation –
  RNA Secondary Structure Abstractions
  M. Quadrini, E. Merelli, L. Tesei.

  🔗 Event website

• International Conference on Computational Methods in Systems Biology (CMSB 2025)
  Lyon, France, September 10–12, 2025

  Oral presentation –
  A Formal Approach to Identify Structural Patterns in RNA
  M. Loreti, M. Quadrini, M. Scoccia, L. Tesei.

  🔗 Event website

• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Conference (BBC 2025)
  Naples, Italy, December 1–4, 2025

  Oral presentation –
  Identification of RNA Triple Helices from Sequence and Secondary Structure
  M. A. G. Matarrese, M. Quadrini, N. Luchetti, F. Di Petta, D. Durante, M. Ballarino, L. Chiodo, L. Tesei.

  Oral presentation –
  STAlign: A Proximity-Based Framework for Comparing RNA and Protein 3D Structures
  M. Quadrini, F. Di Petta, E. Merelli, L. Tesei.
  📦 DOI: f1000research.1120426.1

  Poster –
  Bridging between in silico prediction and in vitro functional characterisation of RNA secondary structures
  D. Durante, N. Luchetti, M. A. G. Matarrese, M. Quadrini, F. Di Petta, M. Simula, L. Chiodo, L. Tesei, M. Ballarino.
  📦 DOI: f1000research.1120420.1

  🔗 Event website

2024

• BMC Bioinformatics Collection – Prediction and modelling of RNA structure and interactions
  Luca Tesei and Letizia Chiodo served as guest editors of this thematic collection together with Anže Božič.
  🔗 Collection website

• The New Cardiobiology – EMBO Workshop 2024
  Heidelberg, Germany, February 20–23, 2024
  Selected abstract –
  From mouse to human: how RNA epigenetic influences cardiomyocytes maturation to prevent cardiac hyperplasia
  G. Buonaiuto, A. Palma, M. Simula, F. Desideri, T. Santini, M. Musarò, M. Ballarino.
  🔗 Event website

• 2ND ML4NGP Meeting on Machine Learning and Non-Globular Proteins
  Thessaloniki, Greece, May 14–17, 2024
  Presentation –
  Automatic Classification of Units in Tandem Repeat Proteins
  M. Quadrini, L. Mariani, D. Pennesi, F. Reucci, L. Tesei.
  🔗 Event website

• Regulatory & Non-Coding RNAs Meeting (CSH 2024)
  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA, May 14–18, 2024
  Poster –
  Neuromuscular interplay and lncRNAs: a synaptic liaison
  M. Simula, P. Tollis, G. Buonaiuto, A. Palma, D. Durante, G. Storari, P. Laneve, M. Ballarino.
  🔗 Event website

• SIBBM 2024 – Italian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  Trento, Italy, June 17–19, 2024
  Poster –
  The nuclear lncRNA Charme plays an evolutionarily conserved role in the epigenetic regulation of muscle differentiation
  G. Buonaiuto, G. Storari, A. Palma, M. Simula, D. Durante, P. Laneve, M. Ballarino.
  Poster Prize
  🔗 Event website

• Computational Intelligence Methods for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (CIBB 2024)
  Benevento, Italy, September 4–6, 2024

  Special Session Co-Chair –
  Luca Tesei (with Michela Quadrini and Alexander Miguel Monzon)
  Special Session: Computational Structural Bioinformatics

  Short Paper Presentation –
  Complex ncRNAs structures: the case of MALAT1 triple helix
  M. Matarrese, M. Quadrini, G. Buonaiuto, M. Ballarino, L. Chiodo, L. Tesei.

  Short Paper Presentation –
  TARNAS, a TrAnslator for RNA Secondary Structure Formats
  M. Quadrini, P. Hierro Canchari, P. Rosati, L. Tesei.

  🔗 Event website

• IIM Meeting 2024
  Assisi, Italy, September 4–7, 2024
  Poster –
  Long noncoding RNAs at the interface between muscles and nerves
  M. Simula, D. Durante, G. Buonaiuto, G. Storari, P. Tollis, P. Laneve, M. Ballarino.
  Poster Prize
  🔗 Event website

• Non-coding RNA World 2024 – Exploring Mechanisms, Designing Medicines
  Basel, Switzerland, October 7–9, 2024

  Poster –
  The lncRNA Charme, an evolutionarily conserved regulator of muscle differentiation and pathology
  G. Buonaiuto, M. Simula, D. Durante, G. Storari, A. Palma, P. Laneve, M. Ballarino.

  Oral presentation –
  Targeting the MYC-dependent long non-coding RNA MB3 regulates the TGF-β and OTX2 pathways in Group 3 Medulloblastoma
  A. Grandioso, P. Tollis, F. Pellegrini, J. Rea, F. Migliaccio, A. Carissimo, D. Trisciuoglio, A. Palma, M. Ballarino, G. Tisci, E. Falvo, P. Ceci, P. Laneve.

  Poster –
  The role of the long non-coding RNA Charme in the phenotype and function of resident cardiac mesenchymal stromal cells
  E. Floris, C. Cozzolino, V. Taliani, G. Buonaiuto, A. Bordin, A. Palma, V. Picchio, C. Nicoletti, M. Ballarino, I. Chimenti, F. Pagano.
  🔗 Event website

• Istituti del Polo San Lorenzo Seminar Series
  Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  Invited lecture –
  Lights from the dark matter: noncoding RNAs in neuromuscular physiology and disease
  M. Ballarino.

• Experimental Models in Molecular Biomedicine (EMMB) Workshop 2024
  Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  Invited lecture –
  Non-coding RNAs and RNA modifications in cell differentiation and disease
  M. Ballarino.
  Organized as a CIVIS Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) by the UAM Department of Molecular Biology

Training and Community Engagement

• Continuous update of the official project website and public repositories.
• Contribution to international training programs and interdisciplinary schools on ncRNAs.
• Organization of a dedicated RNA2Fun workshop (held in February 2026).

All dissemination activities comply with Open Science principles and aim to maximize visibility and reuse of project results.