The study of RNA has become one of the most prominent areas in modern biology and biomedicine. RNA is now appreciated to function as an enzyme, natural scaffold, and powerful regulator of gene expression. Our lab's mission is to develop novel functional RNA-based nanomaterials that can either (i) communicate with each other or with cellular machinery or (ii) be readily responsive to various stimuli. In the long term, our research aims at improving the operation of current therapeutic systems and engineering novel “smart” biomaterials.