Our Mission

The McRae lab works to combine structural and molecular biology and engineer structured RNA elements for application in RNA therapeutics. Thanks to recent advances in direct electron detector technology, vitrification, and reconstruction protocols, it is now possible to determine the structure of RNA species hitherto unapproachable. The method of choice for the structural determination of RNA that are too large for NMR and too dynamic to crystalize is cryogenic electron microscopy. Using the information from our cryo-EM studies we aim to better understand RNA-protein interactions and leverage this knowledge to improve the design of therapeutic RNAs, including mRNA therapies for cancer vaccines and treatments.

CPRIT awarded a $2 million grant to Houston Methodist Research Institute to bring Dr. Ewan McRae from MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK to Texas. Dr. McRae is an accomplished young scientist focused on RNA biology, a new frontier in cancer research.

Post-Doctoral applicants interested in joining the McRae lab are encouraged to reach out via email and find out more about working at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute

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