Leadership and Faculty at the UF RNA Genomic Medicine Center
Director
Matthew D. Disney, Ph.D.
Institute Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry,
The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology
Director, UF RNA Genomic Medicine Center
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: RNA-targeted small molecules, RNA degradation, translational RNA therapeutics, chemical biology.
Wertheim UF Scripps Institute Faculty (Jupiter)
James Burke, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: Viral RNA Sensing and Innate Immunity
Expertise:
Studies viral RNA recognition and immune signaling condensates.
Jessica Childs-Disney, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: RNA Structure-Based Therapeutics
Expertise:
Develops technologies for RNA structure annotation and precision therapeutics.
Ezgi Hacisuleyman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: RNA Regulation in Learning & Memory
Expertise:
Studies RNA-driven molecular pathways in synaptic plasticity.
Zhonglin Liu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: Chemical Proteomics & Functional Genomics for RNA Biology
Expertise:
Develops chemical proteomics and CRISPR-based platforms to discover and validate modulators of RNA-associated proteins.
Sathyanarayanan V. Puthanveettil, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: RNA Transport, Translation & Neurodegeneration
Expertise:
Studies RNA localization and local translation in neuronal plasticity and Alzheimer’s disease.
Ciaran P. Seath, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: Proximity Labeling & Target Discovery
Expertise: Using state-of the-art methods in chemical biology to discover new therapeutically relevant protein-biomolecule interactions that contribute to disease.
Ling Xu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Primary Location: The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Jupiter, Fla.
Focus: Pathogenic RNA structural biology and small molecule discovery
Expertise: Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Cell biology
Link to Profile Page under construction
University of Florida Faculty (Gainesville)
Michael E. Harris, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: RNA catalysis and specificity
Expertise: Our goal is to make a fundamental leap forward in the understanding of biological phosphoryl transfer, drive the field toward quantitative and comprehensive concepts of RNA specificity, and realize novel opportunities in drug discovery.
Chenglong Li, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Medicinal Chemistry; the Nicholas Bodor Professor in Drug Discovery
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: Structure-based drug design
Expertise: Combines molecular simulation, synthetic chemistry, X-ray protein crystallography, thermodynamic measurements, cellular techniques and in vivo animal models to explore molecular interactions.
Yanjun Li, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: AI-driven RNA and small-molecule design
Expertise:
Develops deep learning and generative models for RNA and ligand design.
Duane A. Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D.
The Phyllis Kottler Friedman Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery; University of Florida Assistant Vice President for Research; Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Sciences at the UF College of Medicine, and Director of the UF Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI).
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: Development of innovative immunotherapy treatments for adults and children with malignant brain tumors.
Expertise: Brain surgery; brain tumor, primary – adults; metastatic brain tumor; pituitary tumor; spinal tumor; brain tumor – children; glioblastoma multiforme. “I believe there will be significant improvements in treatments of patients with brain cancer in five to 10 years using immune-based treatments.”
Luiz Passalacqua, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, UF IFAS
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: RNA/DNA structure-function relationships
Expertise: Discovery and characterization of structured non-coding RNAs involved in gene regulation and host-pathogen/microbe interactions. Deciphering how complex DNA structures in R-loops impact genome stability.
Laura P.W. Ranum, Ph.D.
Klitzman Family Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology; Director, Center for Neurogenetics
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: Repeat expansion disorders and repeat associated non-ATG RAN translation
Expertise: RNA gain of function and protein gain of function in repeat expansion disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; spinocerebellar ataxia types 5 and 8; myotonic dystrophy types 1 and 2, and Huntington’s disease.
Rolf Renne, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Molecular Genetis and Microbiology; Associate Director for Basic Science at the UF Health Cancer Institute; Henry E. Innes Professor of Cancer Research
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: Viral Noncoding RNAs & Epigenetics
Expertrise: Epigenetic regulation of viral latency and the role of long and small non-coding RNAs in viral biology.
Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Dean, Departments of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics; Stop Children’s Cancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research; PI, Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: RNA Engineering & Cancer Immunotherapy
Expertise: Focused on on developing new nanotech vaccines to reprogram the immune system against cancer cells.
Maurice S. Swanson, Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Program Director, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: RNA processing and repeat expansion toxicity
Expertise: How RNA processing is controlled during mammalian development and how this regulation is disrupted in neurological and neuromuscular diseases.
Scott A. Tibbetts, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: Viral latency and RNA regulation.
Expertise: We are gaining insight into the mechanisms by which viral noncoding RNAs contribute to latency and tumorigenesis. We are also defining the molecular and pathogenic strategies that gamma herpes viruses such as Epstein-Barr and Kaposi’s sarcoma use to evade the immune system and manipulate B cell biology in order to establish lifelong latent infections.
May Khanna, Ph. D.
Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Innovations and Entrepreneurship, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Primary Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Focus: Small-Molecule Therapeutics & RNA–Protein Interaction Targeting
Expertise: Leads a translational research program focused on developing small-molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases by targeting protein–protein, protein–RNA and RNA interactions. Uses biophysical, structural, and computational approaches to define molecular mechanisms and guide drug discovery. Actively supports innovation, commercialization, and academic entrepreneurship at UF
