Rick Russell
University of Texas at Austin, TX·Biochemistry
RNA and DNA form very stable local structures through base pairing. That stability lets cells recognize specific sequences and fold RNA step by step.
- Fields
Biochemistry
Biophysics
Genetics
- Topics
RNA folding
RNA chaperones
DEAD-box helicase
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2029
What they work on
- Measure how mismatches between guide RNA and target weaken CRISPR-Cas binding, testing whether the penalty is predictable from the properties of the R-loop or RNA helix.
- Determine the strategies natural CRISPR-Cas enzymes use to achieve specificity, and the origins of enhanced specificity in designed high-precision variants.
- Test whether a DEAD-box helicase that acts as a general RNA chaperone becomes a specific chaperone when its disordered C-terminal tail is replaced, using structural and functional studies of the chimeric protein.
- Use disulfide crosslinking to measure attraction or repulsion between DNA and RNA helices in the presence of trivalent cations and polyamines, and between nucleosomes.
- Adapt the disulfide crosslinking approach to probe sharp bending of RNA junctions during RNA folding.
More about the research
But it also makes misfolding likely, and it makes the structures hard to undo. Nearly every cellular process that rearranges RNA or DNA therefore depends on proteins that speed up those changes. The research asks how these proteins work and how they pick their targets, and how nucleic acids themselves fold and pack.
Why it matters
Defects in proteins that remodel RNA and DNA structure are linked to many diseases, including cancer. Understanding how they work could clarify why their malfunction causes disease. CRISPR-Cas enzymes are key tools against genetic diseases. Learning the physical limits of their target specificity could help make gene editing more accurate.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Jack Dunkle
University of Alabama, AL·Biochemistry
Test whether mismatches at specific sensitive positions in the guide RNA-target RNA duplex shut down interference by the Cas10-Csm complex, defining the accuracy rules for RNA-targeting Type III CRISPR-Cas systems.
Scott Bailey
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Biochemistry
Determine how CRISPR-associated proteins use small guide RNAs to locate and destroy foreign DNA or RNA in prokaryotes, using cryo-EM structures together with biochemical, biophysical and cell-based assays.
Shahar Sukenik
Syracuse University, NY·Biophysics
Determine when the structural preferences of disordered regions in transcription factors affect their function, by linking ensemble structure to transcriptional activity in live cells.
The school
University of Texas at Austin: 49 labs on PI Pages, $1.1B a year on research, 871 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.