Dr. Dinshaw J. Patel is a distinguished structural biologist renowned for his pioneering contributions to understanding nucleic acid structures and their biological functions. He currently holds the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Chair in Experimental Therapeutics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he has been a leading figure since 1992. Born in Mumbai, India, Patel immigrated to the United States for graduate studies, earning his PhD in photochemistry from New York University in 1968. His career trajectory includes a significant 17-year tenure at AT&T Bell Laboratories where he transitioned from polymer chemistry to biological applications of NMR spectroscopy, followed by an academic appointment at Columbia University before joining Memorial Sloan Kettering to establish their structural biology program.
Dr. Patel's groundbreaking research has fundamentally advanced our understanding of RNA structure and protein-RNA interactions, with his laboratory making seminal contributions to the structural biology of riboswitches, ribozymes, and RNA interference mechanisms. His work on the structural basis of epigenetic regulation has provided critical insights into how DNA and histone modifications control gene expression, significantly influencing the field of epigenetics. Patel was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2009 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014, recognizing the transformative impact of his structural studies on biological processes. His innovative application of multiple structural techniques including NMR, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-EM has established new paradigms for investigating macromolecular recognition and catalysis in nucleic acid systems.
Beyond his laboratory achievements, Dr. Patel has cultivated extensive collaborative networks across international research institutions, working with scientists such as Julius Brennecke on piRNA pathways and Thomas Tuschl on viral targets. His laboratory continues to push technological boundaries with access to state-of-the-art 300 kV Titan Krios electron microscopes through institutional partnerships in New York. Recognized with numerous honors including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research, Patel remains at the forefront of structural biology with ongoing projects examining CRISPR-Cas systems, cGAS-STING surveillance pathways, and structural maintenance chromosome complexes. His current research directions continue to shape the field, focusing on small molecule targeting of pathogenic viruses and complexes implicated in leukemias and lymphomas, ensuring his enduring influence on structural biology and therapeutic development.
