Jonathan Sczepanski

Jonathan Sczepanski is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University, serving as Graduate Recruitment Coordinator. He leads the Sczepanski Research Group, focusing on chemical biology, nucleic acid chemistry, and molecular evolution to address biological questions and human health challenges. His work spans RNA-based therapeutics, chromatin-DNA interactions, and L-DNA nanotechnology.

Education:

• B.S., 2005, University of Minnesota
• Ph.D., 2010, Johns Hopkins University
• NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, 2010–2015, The Scripps Research Institute

Research Interests:

• Development of cross-chiral RNA aptamers for targeting structured RNAs
• Investigating chromatin structure-DNA modification relationships
• Engineering L-DNA nanodevices for diagnostic/therapeutic applications

Key Research Areas:

• Cross-Chiral RNA Recognition: Using L-RNA aptamers to target disease-related RNAs via shape-based binding.
• Chromatin-DNA Interactions: Designing nucleosome arrays to study DNA repair and methylation in chromatin contexts.
• L-DNA Nanotechnology: Creating heterochiral circuits for live-cell diagnostics and molecular logic systems.

Awards:

• NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow
• CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research

Lab & Collaborations: The group actively collaborates on HIV aptamer-based diagnostics, mirror-image sensor development, and synthetic biology applications. They seek motivated graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

Contact: Located in the Chemistry Building (Room 2513), Sczepanski’s team can be reached via email or phone: 979-862-3731.