Luca Monari

About me

I joined Goepfrich’s group during an internship in Germany, expecting just another lab rotation (and, of course, beer). But it turned out to be so much more. I discovered that RNA isn’t just a molecule—it’s a building block, and I could play LEGO® with it. Like any curious kid, I wondered: What’s the biggest structure I can build? What’s the weirdest shape? How many different ways can I combine the blocks?

Now, in my PhD, I try to answer these questions through RNA Origami. But science is never a smooth ride. I fought—and lost—many battles against unfolded RNA; armed only with my persistence and all the coffee I could find. Eventually, I realized that if nature wasn’t going to make things easy, I’d have to write my own tools to fix it, so I turned to coding.

Today, I balance my time between engineering RNA, developing software, and occasionally stepping on stage for comedy. Because, in the end, a PhD is a lot like stand-up: you think you’ve come up with something brilliant, you say it out loud, and people laugh.

Short Bio