Andrew D. Ellington

Andrew D. Ellington (born 1959) is an American biochemist and synthetic biologist who is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds the Wilson M. and Kathryn Fraser Professorship in Biochemistry at UT Austin and was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professor in 2017. Ellington is best known for his work on in vitro selection techniques and is credited with coining the term "aptamer" to describe nucleic acid molecules that bind specific targets. His laboratory's research spans directed evolution, nucleic acid engineering, and synthetic biology, including the development of aptamers, ribozymes, and diagnostic biosensors.

Early life and education Ellington was born in 1959 in Missouri. He developed an early interest in science and went on to attend Michigan State University, where he earned a B.S. in biochemistry in 1981. He then pursued graduate studies at Harvard University, receiving his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology in 1988. During his Ph.D., he worked with chemist Steven A. Benner on theories of molecular evolution. He has also collaborated with industry and defense agencies; for example, he worked with an Austin-based startup, Paratus Diagnostics, to develop portable diagnostic devices for detecting diseases from saliva or urine samples.

Research and contributions Ellington's research integrates directed evolution and synthetic biology to engineer functional biopolymers and organisms. Early in his career, working with Jack Szostak, he pioneered methods to evolve RNA molecules that bind specific ligands from random sequences. In a significant 1990 paper, Ellington and Szostak demonstrated the in vitro selection of RNA aptamers (a term they introduced) that could specifically bind to organic dyes.

Building on aptamer technology, Ellington's laboratory has also developed allosteric ribozymes (aptazymes) that act as molecular switches, offering potential applications in genetic circuitry and biosensing. His work has extended to evolving enzymes with enhanced stability and novel functions and engineering microorganisms with expanded genetic codes (e.g., "unColi"), paving the way for the production of proteins with novel properties.

Awards and honors Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award – Recognized early in his career for his contributions to nucleic acid biochemistry and synthetic biology. Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences – Named a Pew Scholar in 1994, acknowledging his potential in biomedical research. Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – Elected in 2012 for his innovative contributions to aptamer and synthetic biology research. Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology – Elected in 2014, in recognition of his excellence in microbiological sciences. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor – Selected as an HHMI Professor in 2017, in recognition of both his research achievements and his contributions to undergraduate science education.