Dr David Rusling
Summary
**Accepting self-funded PhD students**
David Rusling completed his doctoral studies in Chemistry at the University of Southampton in 2005 under the mentorship of Professors Tom Brown and Keith Fox, focusing on the sequence-specific recognition of DNA by parallel triplex formation. His early research centred on the development of modified triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) as programmable DNA-recognition agents, with potential applications in gene targeting and molecular therapeutics. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Southampton and the University of Bristol, where he investigated DNA recognition by restriction endonucleases, before moving to New York University as a Visiting Scholar with Professor Nadrian Seeman, a pioneer of DNA nanotechnology.
David later returned to the University of Southampton, where he developed an independent research programme at the interface of nucleic acid chemistry, chemical biology and bioengineering. In 2021, he joined the University of Portsmouth, where he has established a research group focused on engineering nucleic acid-based platforms for biotechnology and healthcare. His laboratory uses multidisciplinary approaches spanning chemical design, biophysical characterisation, molecular biology and cell-based assays to investigate DNA recognition, triplex-forming oligonucleotides, DNA origami and nucleic acid nanostructures. His work aims to understand and exploit sequence-specific DNA recognition for precision gene targeting, synthetic biology, therapeutic discovery and molecular engineering. David is also Executive Editor of Nucleic Acids Research and co-leads a BBSRC-funded network supporting innovation across the UK nucleic acids community.
Research outputs
2026
Recognition of non-standard base pairs by triplex-forming oligonucleotides containing an expanded genetic alphabet
Brazzill, M., Ma, R., Munn, K., Prestifilippo, L., Pickford, A. R., Kim, H., Chen, C., Hoshika, S., Benner, S. A., Rusling, D. A.
12 Jun 2026, In: Nature Communications
Research output: Article
Fluorous-Directed Clamping Stabilizes Triple-Helical DNA
Taladriz-Sender, A., Brazzill, M., Withers, J. M., Clark, A. W., Burley, G. A., Rusling, D. A.
1 Jun 2026, In: ACS Omega. 11, 23, p. 33983-33990, 8p.
Research output: Article
2024
Functionalizing DNA origami by triplex-directed site-specific photo-cross-linking
Kalra, S., Donnelly, A., Singh, N., Matthews, D., Del Villar-Guerra, R., Bemmer, V., Dominguez, C., Allcock, N., Cherny, D., Revyakin, A., Rusling, D. A.
15 May 2024, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 146, 19, p. 13617–13628, 12p.
Research output: Article
2023
The formation and displacement of ordered DNA triplexes in self-assembled three-dimensional DNA crystals
Zhao, Y., Chandrasekaran, A. R., Rusling, D. A., Woloszyn, K., Hao, Y., Hernandez, C., Vecchioni, S., Ohayon, Y. P., Mao, C., Seeman, N. C., Sha, R.
2 Feb 2023, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 145, 6, p. 3599–3605
Research output: Article
Fluorous-directed assembly of DNA origami nanostructures
Zou, J., Stammers, A. C., Taladriz-Sender, A., Withers, J. M., Christie, I., Santana Vega, M., Aekbote, B. L., Peveler, W. J., Rusling, D. A., Burley, G. A., Clark, A. W.
10 Jan 2023, In: ACS Nano. 17, 1, p. 752-759, 8p.
Research output: Article
2021
Triplex-forming properties and enzymatic incorporation of a base-modified nucleotide capable of duplex DNA recognition at neutral pH
Rusling, D. A.
21 Jul 2021, In: Nucleic Acids Research. 49, 13, p. 7256-7266
Research output: Article