The alumnus-turned-faculty member reflects on how his undergraduate years set the stage for his life’s work.
Eric Wagner has come full circle. The first-generation undergraduate biochemistry major from the University of Rochester has developed into a pioneering RNA scientist and mentor at his alma mater.
Now a professor of biochemistry and biophysics and co‑director of the Center for RNA Biology at the University’s Medical Center, Wagner brings expertise from a career that spans Duke, University of North Carolina, and University of Texas. He was recently elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.
In our video, Wagner reflects on how his undergraduate years set the stage for his life’s work—research that continues to shape diagnostic and therapeutic approaches worldwide. But he is also deeply committed to fostering the next generation of researchers. Wagner acknowledges how the “aggregate work of all the talented and committed students and postdocs” has shaped his path—a tribute to the collaborative spirit that defines education and research at the University of Rochester.
