We are interested in understanding the mechanisms that govern post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression during development and complex disease. Our research is focused primarily in three areas:

1. Post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms involved in axis polarization and cell fate specification during Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis.

2. Characterization of post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that guide oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin formation in the vertebrate central nervous system.

3. Identification of small molecule inhibitors of RNA-binding protein function using high throughput screening approaches.

We employ a combination of biochemical and molecular genetic methods, bioinformatics, chemical biology, biophysics, and structural analsyses in our studies, with a focus on quantitative measurements.

Read more about our research here.

Farley, BM, Pagano, JM, and Ryder, SP. 2008 RNA target specificity of the cell fate determinant POS-1. RNA, 14, 2685-2697.

Zearfoss, NR, Farley, BM and Ryder, SP. 2008  Post-transcriptional regulation of myelin formation. Biochem. Biophys. Acta, 1779, 486-494.

Farley, BM and Ryder, SP. 2008 Regulation of maternal mRNAs in early development. Crit. Rev. Biochem. Mol. Biol., 43, 135-162.

Pagano, JM, Farley, BM, McCoig, LM, and Ryder, SP. 2007 Molecular basis of RNA recognition by the embryonic polarity determinant MEX-5. J. Biol. Chem. 282, 8883-8894.

Ryder, SP. 2006 Oskar gains weight.  Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 13, 297-299.

Campus Address: Lazare Research Building, 9th floor, Office 906

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Sean P. Ryder, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
University of Massachusetts Medical School

Joined the faculty in August of 2005.