Q&A with Dr. Allison Siegenfeld: Understanding a Tiny RNA Modification’s Outsized Role in Cancer
October 14, 2025Allison Siegenfeld, a postdoctoral trainee at Harvard Medical School, is studying a hallmark of cancer — the dysregulation of messenger RNA levels — to better understand how treatments can target this mechanism of action.
One of Allison Siegenfeld’s favorite things about science is the collaboration and teamwork required for success. “I had this misconception that being a scientist was more of a solo endeavor, which initially dissuaded me from that career path,” she said. Fortunately, her scientific experiences in high school, college, and graduate school disabused her of that notion.
Now a postdoctoral trainee at Harvard Medical School, Siegenfeld is enjoying both pursuing research questions that interest her and mentoring undergraduate students. She received a 2025 PhRMA Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Drug Discovery for her research examining a hallmark of cancer: the dysregulation of messenger RNA levels.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) harbors the instructions to make the proteins that perform essential functions in the cell. Siegenfeld studies the most common mRNA modification, N6-methyladenosine (m6A), which is overabundant in cancer. Her research combines fast-acting clinically relevant drugs that target m6A with cutting-edge techniques to assess the drugs’ impact on mRNA. She aims to better understand the drugs’ mechanism of action and identify new therapeutic strategies.
Watch this video to learn more about Siegenfeld and her research.
