Chemical & Biological Engineering Graduate Program

Faculty Advisor: Juan de Pablo

Resume

DNA and RNA play pivotal roles in the function of all living organisms. While their role is largely understood, less is known regarding the dynamic behavior of these biopolymers. Specifically, I am interested in DNA hybridization in vivo and in vitro and RNA pseudoknot folding. The goal of my research is to further develop coarse grain models for DNA and RNA that can inform us how these processes occur. This will allow us to examine their sequence/structure/function relationship. Then we will be able to examine the effect of single nucleotide polymorphism and optimize processes where DNA is used in vitro for nano-engineering applications.

Currently, I am examining the process by which complimentary ssDNA hybridizes when attached to nanospheres. I use transition path sampling and forward flux sampling together with the resources of the Center for High Throughput Computing to perform my analyses.