In brief
- Researcher
- Michael T. Wolfinger, computational RNA biologist
- Science
- RNA structure, folding kinetics, viral RNA biology, RNA engineering, computational methods
- Outputs
- Peer reviewed publications, open source software, reproducible workflows
- Activities
- Research, scientific collaboration, open software, scientific service, advanced training
- Location
- Vienna, Austria
Research
Research spans several connected areas of computational RNA biology, linked by a common focus on RNA structure, dynamics, evolution, and function.
Secondary structure ensembles, folding pathways, and kinetic models, from ViennaRNA based analysis to machine learned folding dynamics.
Conserved RNA elements, structured viral genomes, comparative genomics, and phylodynamic analysis across emerging and medically relevant viruses.
Computational design and analysis of functional RNAs, sequence and structure relationships, reproducible workflows, and data driven methods.
Selected recent publications
RNA Forecast contributes original research in computational RNA biology through international collaborations spanning RNA structure, RNA engineering, viral RNA biology and computational methods.
Software and research resources
Computational methods are released as open source software and reproducible workflows wherever possible.
The reference software ecosystem for RNA secondary structure prediction and analysis.
A reproducible workflow for comparative RNA-structure analysis, candidate discovery, and covariation assessment.
Datasets, workflows, and builds for genomic and phylodynamic analysis of emerging viruses.
Selected collaborations
Selected research collaborations with groups in Europe, Asia and Australia. Each is a project with its own timeline, and each has produced joint publications.
Structure, mechanics and engineering of exoribonuclease resistant RNAs
RNA structure ensemble mapping and conserved regulatory switches in living cells
Small RNA responses and subgenomic RNAs in insect specific flaviviruses
Machine learning for approximating RNA folding kinetics
Computational analysis of Musashi RNA complexes in viral pathogenesis
Discovery and phylogenetic placement of novel tick associated flaviviruses
Teaching and advanced training
Michael T. Wolfinger has taught computational biology, bioinformatics and RNA analysis at universities in Austria and Germany for more than two decades.
Alongside university teaching, RNA Forecast runs advanced workshops on the ViennaRNA ecosystem and computational RNA analysis for academic and industrial audiences.
- University courses and graduate teaching
- Hands on ViennaRNA workshops
- Lectures and invited talks
- Supervision and mentoring
Michael T. Wolfinger
Computational RNA biologist. His research covers RNA structure prediction and folding kinetics, structure-aware RNA design, RNA-protein recognition and structured viral RNAs. Much of it centres on RNAs whose function comes from their structure, not just their sequence.
He is an independent Principal Investigator, leading research projects as well as collaborative projects with the Theoretical Biochemistry Group at the University of Vienna, a long-standing centre of RNA bioinformatics and home of the ViennaRNA Package. In 2023 and 2024 he was a visiting professor at the University of Freiburg.
He pursues his independent research through RNA Forecast, his platform for research, software development, scientific collaborations, and teaching activities.
- Editorial roles across journals in computational biology, bioinformatics, virology, and molecular biology
- Regular peer reviewer for leading journals including Nature Portfolio, Nucleic Acids Research, RNA, and RNA Biology
- Open source software contribution and maintenance in the ViennaRNA ecosystem
- Academic teaching, advanced training, and scientific mentoring
- Supervision of student research and international scientific collaborations
Enquiries
Enquiries about collaborations, joint proposals, invited talks, workshops and method transfer are welcome.