Chemistry

Biographical Info

RNA Molecular Recognition and Catalysis

The past decade has witnessed a rapid increase in our understanding of the essential biological roles of RNA, and how errors in RNA metabolism contribute to cancer, heart disease, and developmental disorders. In our own lab we combine “classic” (but very powerful) tools of mechanistic enzymology with next generation sequencing and bioinformatics to address fundamental unanswered questions that lay at the heart of RNA biochemistry: Do catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) use the same strategies as protein enzymes achieve their catalytic power? How do RNA binding proteins find their cognate binding sites amidst a vast sea of non-cognate binding sites in the transcriptome? Addressing these questions is providing new and often unexpected insights into RNA structure-function relationships, as well as principles useful for engineering novel RNAs or RNA binding proteins with therapeutic potential.

Education and training:

• 1986: B.S., (Chemistry) 1986 Florida State University
• 1992: Ph.D. (Biochemistry) 1992 Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham (lab of Dr. Stephen Hajduk)
• 1992-1996: Postdoctoral Fellow, 1992 – 1996, Indiana University (lab of Dr. Norman Pace)

Academic appointments:

• 1996 – 2001: Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
• 2003 – 2014: Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
• 2014 – 2016: Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
• 2017 – : Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Professional Service (selected, since 2000):

• 1999 – 2001: ACS, Petroleum Research Fund, reviewer
• 2004: NIH, Biochemistry Study Section, panel member
• 2004 – 2005: NIH, NRSA ZGR-1 Genes and Genomes Study Section, panel member
• 2004 – 2006: NIH, Fogarty International Grant Program Study Section, panel member
• 2006 – : NSF, Chemistry Division, panel member
• 2009 – 2010: NIH, Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research, panel member
• 2006 – 2011: NIH, ICP-1 International and Collaborative Projects Study Section, panel member
• 2005 – 2012: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, UK, reviewer
• 2012: NIH, MSFB Macromolec Structure and Function-B Study Section, panel member
• 2013: NSF, Chemistry Division, Chemistry of Life Processes Program, panel member
• 2014: NIH, ZRG1 BCMB-S Biochem and Macromolecular Biophysics, panel member
• 2014 – 2017: NIH, TWD-B, Training and Workforce Development Study Section, panel member
• 2017: ISF, Israel Science Foundation, reviewer
• 2017: NSF, Chemistry Division, Chemistry of Life Processes Program, panel member

Current Teaching

• Fall 2017: CHM 6302-Chemistry and Biology and Nucleic Acids