Evans Wralstad
He/Him
I am gay and I am a PhD candidate in chemical biology.//
I study the structure, function, and therapeutic potential of ribonucleases (RNases), proteins responsible for the degradation of RNA, as a member of the Raines lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. RNases are ubiquitous proteins in humans that help regulate the rate at which genes are expressed by degrading the messages those genes convey in the form of mRNA. RNases are also involved in immunoprotection, which has inspired my protein engineering efforts to develop RNases variants that are accepted into all human cells but attack only virally-infected ones—the molecular equivalent of a Trojan horse. These RNase variants initially exist in an inactive state at the point of cell entry. Upon activation by the presence of virus inside the cell, these “Trojan RNases” then activate and indiscriminately chew up RNA, disrupting cellular processes and thereby killing the cell—and taking the virus with it! My prior work has focused on an HIV-directed Trojan RNase, and more recently I’ve pivoted my research toward a COVID-19-directed RNase variant.
I believe the greatest duty of Science is to improve the lives of others, and this desire to help people is what drives my interest and success in scientific research.