Nicholas V. Hud Professor Office: 2309 IBB Phone: 404-385-1162 Fax: 404-894-7452 E-mail Nicholas V. Hud Research Group Web site

B.S., Loyola Marymount University, 1986; Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 1992

Research Interests

The primary goal of the Hud laboratory is to obtain a more complete understanding of the factors that control the folding, stability, and assembly of higher order nucleic acid structures. Towards this end, we utilize a number of physical and chemical techniques. Research projects include: 1) exploration of DNA and RNA cation binding; 2) investigations of DNA nanostructure self-assembly for gene delivery; and 3) the development of a protein-free, RNA-like, self-replicating system.

Recent Publications

"Formation of a b-Pyrimidine Nucleoside by a Free Pyrimidine Base and Ribose in a Plausible Prebiotic Reaction," Bean, Heather D.; Sheng, Yinghong; Collins, James P.; Anet, Frank A. L.; Leszczynski, Jerzy; Hud, Nicholas V., Journal of the American Chemical Society ACS ASAP.

"NMR evaluation of ammonium ion movement within a unimolecular G-quadruplex in solution," Podbevsek, Peter; Hud, Nicholas V.; Plavec, Janez, Nucleic Acids Research 35(8), 2554-2563, (2007).

"Addressing the problems of base pairing and strand cyclization in template-directed synthesis a case for the utility and necessity of 'molecular midwives' and reversible backbone linkages for the origin of proto-RNA," Hud, Nicholas V.; Jain, Swapan S.; Li, Xiaohui; Lynn, David G., Chemistry & Biodiversity 4(4), 768-783, (2007).

"DFT Energy Surfaces for Aminopurine Homodimers and Their Conjugate Acid Ions," Hud, Nicholas V.; Morton, Thomas Hellman, Journal of Physical Chemistry A 111(17), 3369-3377, (2007).

"Bacterial protein HU dictates the morphology of DNA condensates produced by crowding agents and polyamines," Sarkar, Tumpa; Vitoc, Iulia; Mukerji, Ishita; Hud, Nicholas V., Nucleic Acids Research 35(3), 951-961, (2007).

"The role of cations in determining quadruplex structure and stability," Hud, Nicholas V.; Plavec, Janez, Quadruplex Nucleic Acids, 100-130, (2006).

"Ethidium and Proflavine Binding to a 2',5'-Linked RNA Duplex," Horowitz, Eric D.; Hud, Nicholas V., Journal of the American Chemical Society 128(48), 15380-15381, (2006).

"Time Study of DNA Condensate Morphology: Implications Regarding the Nucleation, Growth, and Equilibrium Populations of Toroids and Rods," ilfan, Igor D.; Conwell, Christine C.; Sarkar, Tumpa; Hud, Nicholas V., Biochemistry 45(26), 8174-8183, (2006).

"Glyoxylate as a Backbone Linkage for a Prebiotic Ancestor of RNA," Bean, Heather D.; Anet, Frank A. L.; Gould, Ian R.; Hud, Nicholas V., Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres 36(1), 39-63, (2006).

"Toroidal DNA Condensates: Unraveling the Fine Structure and the Role of Nucleation in Determining Size In Vitro," Nicholas V. Hud and Igor D. Vilfan, Ann. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struc. 34, 295-318 (2005).

"Condensation of Oligonucleotides Assembled into Nicked and Gapped Duplexes: Potential Structures for Oligonucleotide Delivery," Tumpa Sarkar, Christine C. Conwell, Lilia C. Harvey and Nicholas V. Hud, Nucleic Acids Res. 33, 143-151 (2005).

"Assembly of an Antiparallel Duplex from Homo-Adenine Sequences by Small Molecule Binding," Özgül Persil, Catherine Santai, Swapan S. Jain and Nicholas V. Hud, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 8644-8645 (2004).

"Evidence That Both Kinetic and Thermodynamic Factors Govern DNA Toroid Dimensions: Effects of Magnesium(II) on DNA Condensation by Hexammine Cobalt(III)," Christine C. Conwell and Nicholas V. Hud, Biochemistry 43, 538-5387 (2004).

"Enzymatic Behavior by Intercalating Molecules in a Template-Directed Ligation Reaction," Swapan S. Jain, Frank A. L. Anet, Christopher J. Stahle and Nicholas V. Hud, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Eng. 43, 2004-2008 (2004).

"Formation of Native-like Mammalian Sperm Cell Chromatin with Folded Bull Protamine," Igor D. Vilfan, Christine C. Conwell and Nicholas V. Hud, J. Biol. Chem. 279, 20088-20095 (2004).

"Controlling the Size of Nanoscale Toroidal DNA Condensates with Static Curvature and Ionic Strength," Christine C. Conwell, Igor D. Vilfan and Nicholas V. Hud, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100, 9296-9301 (2003).

"Cryoelectron Microscopy of Phage DNA Condensates in Vitreous Ice: The Fine Structure of DNA Toroids," Nicholas V. Hud and Kenneth H. Downing, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 14925-14930 (2001).

"Intercalation-Mediated Synthesis and Replication: A New Approach to the Origin of Life," Nicholas V. Hud and Frank. A. L. Anet, J. Theor. Biol. 205, 543-562 (2000).