Martin Panigaj, Ph.D.

M.S.: P. J. Safarik University in Kosice, Slovak Republic

Ph.D.: Charles University in Prague, First Faculty of Medicine, Czech Republic

Post-doc: (ORISE fellow) FDA, CBER, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapy

Field of Interest: Everything about RNA or rephrasing Bubba from the movie Forrest Gump- “Anyway, like I was sayin’, RNA is the fruit of the nature. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s uh, RNA-kabobs, RNA creole, RNA gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple RNA, lemon RNA, coconut RNA, pepper RNA, RNA soup, RNA stew, RNA salad, RNA and potatoes, RNA burger, RNA sandwich. That- that’s about it.”

Research Focus:

– immunomodulation by nucleic acid-based nanoparticles (NANPs)

– conditional activation of nucleic-acid based nanoparticles (NANPs)

– assembly of functional NANPs in bacterial and mammalian cells

– targeted delivery of NANPs by aptamers

So far in theory I am also interested in the evolution of functional noncoding RNAs and the viral RNA motives that promote virus survival.