Sam Gunderson, PhD, is an associate professor of molecular biology at Rutgers University where he has taught both advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses since 1997. He is also the principal investigator of a basic and applied research lab that has been continuously funded for 15 years by the National Institutes of Health as well as by private foundations and industry. His basic research is to understand mechanisms of gene regulation in mammals with a particular emphasis on pre-mRNA processing, RNA splicing and polyA tail addition. Dr. Gunderson has extensive expertise in RNA biology, pre-mRNA processing and gene silencing technologies. He holds a patent on the U1 Adaptor gene silencing technology that he is currently developing to become a therapeutic platform to treat many types of human diseases including Parkinson's. Dr. Gunderson is also CEO and founder of Silagene Inc., whose mission is to commercialize the U1 Adaptor technology.