Current Research and Scholarly Interests
The Puglisi group investigates the role of RNA in cellular processes and disease. Our goal is to understand RNA function in terms of molecular structure and dynamics using a variety of biophysical and biological tools. We use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to determine structures of biological molecules, and integrate structural understanding into further mechanistic and functional studies. We investigate dynamics using single-molecule approaches. Our goal is a unified picture of structure, dynamics and function. We are currently focused on the mechanism and regulation of translation, and the role of RNA in viral infections. A long-term goal is to target processes involving RNA with novel therapeutic strategies.
