Wade Winkler, Ph.D., is a professor of molecular microbiology at the University of Maryland. His research group investigates the biology of bacterial RNA elements, such as riboswitches, protein-sequestering RNAs, trans-acting regulatory RNAs, RNA-binding proteins, RNases and RNA elements that promote antitermination. By studying the molecular mechanisms of genetic regulatory elements, his laboratory is working to uncover new targets for antimicrobial drugs and to develop new and impactful tools for synthetic biology.

Winkler received his B.S. in molecular biology and microbiology from the University of Central Florida. He received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University Department of Microbiology, where he used genetic approaches to investigate Bacillus subtilis signal-responsive regulatory RNAs. He was a postdoctoral research associate at Yale University, where he used biochemical approaches to investigate ligand-RNA interactions. He was an assistant and associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from 2004-2011, before relocating to the University of Maryland, where he holds joint professor appointments in the departments of cell biology and molecular genetics and chemistry and biochemistry.