Awards

Best Georgia Tech Faculty Research Paper of 2001, Awarded by the Georgia Tech chapter of Sigma Xi.

Research Innovation Award, The Research Corporation, 2000.

Education

B.S., Loyola Marymount University, 1986; Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 1992; Postdoctoral Fellow Lawrence Livermore Natl. Lab., 1992-1995; NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA, 1995-1999

Research

The research in our laboratory is directed towards elucidating the fundamental chemical and physical principles that govern nucleic acid (RNA and DNA) assembly. We are interested in how the physical properties of nucleic acids govern biological functions in contemporary life, and how these same properties provide clues to the origin and early evolution of life. We are also applying our knowledge of nucleic acids to problems that are of current importance in medicine and biotechnology. Specific projects include investigations of: 1) the origin and evolution of RNA; 2) cation, solvent and small molecule interactions with nucleic acids; 3) nucleic acid condensation and packaging; and 4) folding and evolution of the ribosome. Our research involves the application of a wide variety of physical and chemical techniques.

Research Keywords

Organic and Biological Chemistry; Chemistry at the origin of life; Self-assembling molecules; Nucleic acid chemistry