Joseph Piccirilli

Joseph Piccirilli is a Professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His research focuses on RNA biochemistry, ribozyme catalysis, and structural biology, with significant NIH funding for projects like "Structure and Function of Non-Coding RNA" (R35GM149336) and "Chaperone-Assisted RNA Crystallography" (R01GM102489). He has also led predoctoral training programs in Chemistry and Biology since 2022.

His recent publications (2024-2025) explore tRNA modifications, riboswitch promiscuity, RNA-ligand interactions, and prebiotic RNA aminoacylation. Key collaborations include researchers like Nan-Sheng Li, Jonathan Staley, and Anthony Kossiakoff. His work spans biochemical, structural, and chemical approaches to RNA function, with applications in disease modeling and synthetic biology.

Dr. Piccirilli's grants (R01GM131568, R01AI081987, T32GM008720) highlight his expertise in RNA catalysis, splicing mechanisms, and HDV ribozyme studies. He has contributed to over 431 concepts in RNA research, including RNA conformation, nucleic acid chemistry, and viral RNA structures.