Donald H. Burke

Donald H. Burke is a Professor at the University of Missouri with appointments in Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Biochemistry, and Bioengineering. His work spans four decades, focusing on RNA biochemistry, antiviral therapies, and the origin of life.

• Major research areas: Ribozyme evolution, HIV reverse transcriptase inhibition, RNA aptamer engineering, and RNA world hypothesis.
• Key methodologies: SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment), chimeric SELEX, and FASTAptamer, a bioinformatic toolkit he developed.

His lab investigates RNA-protein interactions in HIV-1 replication, RNA-small molecule binding (e.g., S-adenosyl methionine), and RNA catalysis for phosphorylation reactions. Recent work explores RNA-based gene therapy and metabolic engineering using synthetic ribozymes.

Collaborations include X-ray crystallography, clinical virology, and synthetic chemistry. The lab trains future scientists through PhD programs in Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapeutics, Biochemistry, and Genetics.