One Small Step for a Patient, One Giant Leap for Orthostatic Hypotension.

Eric Richardson is a Professor of the Practice in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University and the Founding Director of Duke Design Health. His research and teaching focus on medical device design and manufacturing in global and underserved markets. He emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches and academic-industry collaborations. In 2018, Richardson transitioned to Duke from Rice University, where he was the Founding Director of the Global Medical Innovation Program, which develops and implements medical technology in emerging markets. He was also the Associate Director of the Texas Medical Center Biodesign Fellowship, a program that offers venture formation curriculum to create digital health and medical device startups. Prior to Rice, he was a Principal R&D Engineer at Medtronic in California, where he developed transcatheter heart valves that currently serve over 500,000 patients worldwide. Richardson has several publications, patents and book chapters related to cardiac medical devices, and is involved with several startups.

The Holley Laboratory is focused on the role of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) in cardiovascular health and disease, with a special emphasis on snoRNA (small nucleolar RNA).  snoRNAs are canonically known to guide the chemical modification of other RNAs, with ribosomal RNA being the primary target.  Dr. Holley’s research has helped to uncover a novel biologic role for the Rpl13a snoRNAs in the regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress.  These four snoRNAs (U32a, U33, U34, and U35a) have a critical role in the oxidative stress response to a variety of stimuli, including saturated fatty acids, lipopolysaccharide, doxorubicin, and hydrogen peroxide.

The Holley Lab has shown that at least one mechanism linking the Rpl13a snoRNAs to ROS and oxidative stress is snoRNA-guided methylation of mRNA. This methylation in an mRNA coding sequence inhibits subsequent protein translation. We have also shown that snoRNA-guided methylation alters RNA conformational ensembles, which can stabilize short-lived structures.

Currently, the lab is studying the role of Rpl13a snoRNAs in atherosclerosis, where loss or inhibition of these snoRNAs reduces athero by ~50%. We are actively pursuing translational research opportunities to design "RNA therapeutics" targeting these snoRNAs for potential clinical use.