PhD
Kenan Distinguished Professor, Chemistry
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Genetics Research Program
Area of Interest
We create chemistry-based technologies, or “molecular microscopes”, that reveal the structure of large RNAs in detail, in cells. Our lab then leads efforts to understand how RNA structure regulates diverse areas of biology and to advance the fast-evolving field of RNA-targeted drug discovery. Work in our lab is driven by a fundamental attitude: We try to make technologies simple. Making things simple is hard but, when you are successful, simplicity builds in robustness and inspires others to adopt and extend our foundational work.
Technologies technologies invented by our lab including SHAPE, mutational profiling (MaP), and single-molecule correlated chemical probing (smCCP) are now in use worldwide and are transforming our understanding of how RNA structure governs biological regulatory networks.
The most critical insight obtained through application of our technologies is that the pattern of RNA base pairing (or secondary structure) functions broadly as a switch that enables or modulates ubiquitous classes of RNA-centered gene regulation. Diverse biotechnology companies interested in targeting RNA rely on technologies invented in our lab to identify ligand-binding RNA structures and to advance small molecules into drugs.
The next frontier in large-scale RNA structure analysis lies in understanding the pervasiveness and functions of higher order tertiary structures. Our laboratory is inventing multiple – ultimately simple (!) – technologies to address this challenge. RNA motifs with complex higher order structure are exactly the places most likely to contain clefts and pockets that are targetable with function-modifying small molecules. Our efforts in the emerging field of RNA-directed drug discovery support a new way of thinking about drugging RNA and are poised to transform broad therapeutic areas by targeting currently ‘undruggable’ processes.
Awards and Honors
Graduate students in the lab have been named UNC Lineberger, NIH, and National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellows and postdoctoral colleagues have been awarded national, competitive fellowships from the American Cancer Society, the NIH, and the Human Frontiers Program.
- Visiting Fellow, University of Cambridge (UK)
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- NIH EUREKA Award
- NSF Career Award
- Searle Scholar Award in the Biomedical Sciences
- Visiting Scholar, National Institutes of Health
News and Stories
NCI awards Pecot $1.8 million lung cancer research grant
The grant will support Chad Pecot, MD, and his research investigating the roles circular RNA may have in regulating whether a form of lung cancer will spread beyond the original cancer site.
UNC Lineberger creates RNA Discovery Center
The UNC RNA Discovery Center, led by Chad Pecot, MD, will cultivate an inclusive community of scientists dedicated to investigating all aspects of RNA biology.
