Rate My Professor Eric Hayden

Hayden's research program centers on the design and laboratory evolution of functional RNA molecules with potential biomedical and biotechnical applications. His work elucidates the evolutionary processes from life's chemical origins, employing next-generation sequencing to map RNA fitness landscapes and test evolutionary theories. Current interests encompass RNA synthetic biology and evolution, nucleic acid memory, microbiomes, and origins of life. He collaborates with Dr. Matt Ferguson on single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to visualize RNA processing in living eukaryotic cells. Hayden has authored numerous high-impact publications, including "Spontaneous network formation among cooperative RNA replicators" in Nature (2012), "Cryptic genetic variation promotes rapid evolutionary adaptation in an RNA enzyme" in Nature (2011), "Intramolecular phenotypic capacitance in a modular RNA molecule" in PNAS (2015), and "Engineering a custom-sized DNA scaffold for more efficient DNA origami-based nucleic acid data storage" in Synthetic Biology (2025). His contributions have earned recognition, such as the NSF Central European Summer Research Institute Fellowship in 2007, the Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award (Sherwood Chang Award) at the Gordon Research Conference on the Origin of Life in 2008, and Best Presentation at the University of Zurich/ETH University Research Priority Program Systems Biology/Functional Genomics Retreat in 2010. In 2024, his presentation was voted among the Top 10 at the inaugural RNA Canada conference.