Dr. Patrick A. Limbach
Dr. Patrick A. Limbach received his B.S. in Chemistry and Chemical Physics from Centre College, his Ph.D from The Ohio State University studying under Prof. Alan G. Marshall and served as a postdoc with Prof. James A McCloskey at the University of Utah. He accepted his first faculty position at Louisiana State University in 1995 and moved to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati in 2001, where he is an Ohio Eminent Scholar and serves as the Department Head. His research program concentrates on the development of new mass spectrometry-based approaches for the large-scale characterization of non-protein coding RNAs and the structural study of ribonucleoprotein complexes focused on the biological events associated with protein translation. Recently, his lab has developed a new approach to identify small RNAs from whole cell lysates, and his lab has now extended this approach to provide quantitative information on RNA expression levels including changes to post-transcriptional modifications. Currently, his lab is investigating the effects of stress on RNA modification patterns, RNA expression levels, and the intervening ribonucleoprotein complexes involved in RNA modification. To accomplish these goals, his lab is investigating the use of new ion dissociation approaches for sequencing modified RNAs and modified proteins as well as the advantages of accurate mass measurements to identify in vitro and in vivo cross-linked ribonucleoprotein complexes. He has received several honors and recognitions including, most recently, the Sigma Xi Research Award and selection as a Fellow of the Graduate School at UC.