Donald H. Burke-Agüero
Research Interests The Burke lab explores the many roles of ribonucleic acid, or RNA. This substance has long been known to function in cells to help copy genetic information from DNA, but scientists increasingly recognize many other tasks that RNA carries out. The lab pushes the boundaries of what is possible to achieve with RNA. From using aptamers to target cancer, using ribozymes to explore the RNA origins of life on Earth, and using protein engineering to understand RNA-protein interactions in viral replication, a theme that unifies the lab’s projects is the relationships among macromolecular sequence, function, selection pressures,…