Patrick E. Lackey

I have been at Westminster since 2016 and currently serve as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry. Primarily, I teach first-year chemistry (CHE 117) and Biochemistry courses (CHE 381, CHE 382, and CHE 383), as well as junior and senior level research courses.

I earned my B.S. in Biochemistry from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and my Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

I developed an interest in RNA early in my academic career and have been working on it ever since: as an undergrad I studied biophysical interations between RNA structures called G-quartets and proteins, and my Ph.D. project was on the regulation of histone mRNA degradation. 

At Westminster I am continuing my work on histone mRNA degradation by using both experimental and computational approaches to understand how a process called uridylation affects the stability of the mRNA/protein complex. I work closely with students on this, creating approaches to these questions that can be used by undergraduate students to build the skills necessary for a research career! If you'd like more information about this, feel free to contact me directly!

In addition to my role in the Chemistry Department, I also serve as the Director of the Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research. For more information on the Drinko Center, check out:  https://www.westminster.edu/academics/research/index.cfm