NathanÌýBullen

  • (he/him)
  • Postdoctoral Scholar
  • Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow
  • DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY
Nathan Bullen 2024.jpg

ÌýÌýB.S. Microbiology, University of Waterloo, 2013-2018

ÌýÌýPh.D. Biochemistry Advisor: Dr. John Whitney, McMaster University, 2018-2024

ÌýÌýPostdoctoral Fellow, 2024–present

It has been said that RNA is the central molecule in genetic transfer and cellular
processes; Dr. Nathan Bullen’s past and planned future research certainly support
that sentiment.

During his thesis research in Dr. John Whitney’s lab at McMaster University, Bullen
discovered the role of an RNA-modifying enzyme in microbial warfare. Bacteria
compete with one another in a microscopic turf war of sorts. One of the ways
they combat their foes is by injecting toxins into nearby bacterial cells. Bullen
demonstrated that one of these toxins is an enzyme called RhsP2 which works to
inhibit protein synthesis or translation in neighboring cells.

As a Fellow in Aaron Whiteley’s lab at the University of Colorado, Dr. Bullen is going
on the defensive—asking: how do organisms survive when their RNA is under
attack? Intriguingly, the proteins that repair RNA are conserved from bacteria to
humans, and Bullen has reason to believe that these systems operate in remarkably
similar ways, despite billions of years of evolution. By studying these pathways in
bacteria—whose genes are easier to manipulate—his cutting-edge research is
shedding light on fundamental processes of RNA metabolism across the tree of life,
with far-reaching implications for health, disease, and beyond.

Nathan is the recipient of:
  • 2025-2028 Postdoctoral Fellowship