Dr. Rando is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He carried out an M.D./Ph.D. at Stanford in Jerry Crabtree’s lab, working on chromatin remodeling and T cell activation. He launched his independent career as a Bauer Fellow at Harvard, working on chromatin structure and function in budding yeast, and on paternal dietary effects in mouse. He joined UMMS in 2007, where over the years his lab has worked on a variety of topics in the fields of gene regulation, chromatin architecture, epigenetic inheritance, and reproductive biology.

Dr. Rando has a broad background in genomics, chromatin, and epigenetics, with specific training and expertise in genome-wide assays of chromatin state and other epigenetic marks. His research program includes two broad areas. In the first, they study intergenerational transfer of environmental information from one generation to the next, focusing on paternal effects of diet and other perturbations. Their efforts in this system have led them to intensively investigate the sperm epigenome, to develop expertise in reproductive tract biology and preimplantation development, and to explore tRNA modifications and functional roles for tRNA fragments in various biological systems. In the second area of interest, they develop genomic assays for nucleosome positioning, histone modification, histone dynamics, and chromosome folding. They combine these assays with mutant analyses to uncover the role of chromatin structure in regulation of the genome, and to investigate the mechanistic basis for copying of chromatin states.

Farah is a genomics researcher by training, now taking a detour into the world of policy. Currently, Farah is the Director of Research and Policy at Evidence for Democracy, where she leads research, training and campaigns to promote the transparent use of evidence in government decision-making.

Farah holds a Master of Science in Molecular Genetics and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. Previously, Farah co-founded the Toronto Science Policy Network, has written about science for multiple media outlets, and continues to organize Wikipedia Edit-A-Thons to create pages about under-represented scientists. She serves as a member of the Canada Chief Science Advisor’s Youth Council, 500 Women Scientists’ Leadership Team, and Let’s Talk Science’s Board of Directors.