Jim Maher, III

Jim Maher, III, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He serves as Director of the Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program and Co-director of the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development. His research focuses on nucleic acid structure, gene regulation, and cancer metabolism. Dr. Maher holds the Bernard Pollack Professorship and has led the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences as Dean until 2019.

• Education:
  • BS in Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • PhD in Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Postdoctoral Training at California Institute of Technology
• Research Interests:
  • DNAs/RNAs interactions with proteins
  • Artificial gene regulation via nucleic acid libraries
  • Biochemistry of paraganglioma and glioblastoma

His lab develops aptamer-based therapies for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Key achievements include pioneering DNA aptamer selection strategies and identifying metabolic vulnerabilities in tumors. Dr. Maher has received the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Educator Award (2021) and AAAS Fellowship (2020).

Current projects include SELEX-based anti-glioblastoma therapies and genome-wide screens for cancer vulnerabilities. He leads NIH-funded studies on nucleic acid applications in neuroregeneration and metabolic oncology.