Sosnick Lab

located at The University of Chicago

The over-all goal of our research program is to understand how complex biological molecules adopt their functional, 3-dimensional conformations: The Protein and RNA Folding Problem. These synergistic studies, both experimental and computational, are based on the premise that rigorous and innovative studies of basic processes have broad implications in many areas of biological research. The folding process has considerable biological significance while posing a tremendous intellectual challenge. Beyond aiding in the prediction of structure from sequence, the relevance of folding studies is underscored by the involvement of misfolded conformers in a variety of human diseases and the role of “natively-unfolded” proteins in regulation, recognition, and binding. From the RNA standpoint, recent discoveries of the diverse roles structural RNAs play in gene expression, such as riboswitches, illustrate the importance of understanding their dynamics and folding as well. Other classes of non-coding RNAs are likely to be found with new regulatory roles.