Department of Biology and Biochemistry

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Faculty Profile

Quentin VicensQuentin Vicens

Assistant Professor
Department of Biology and Biochemistry
Research Division: Biochemistry (Primary)

Office: Science & Engineering Research Center (SERC), 4021
Lab: SERC, W4010
Contact: qvicens@uh.edu - 713-743-2696

Education: Sc.D., University of Strasbourg, France (2015); Ph.D., University of Strasbourg, France (2002); B.Sc., University of Strasbourg, France (1997)

Google Scholar Profile

At the intersection of computational and experimental biology, our lab investigates how non-canonical RNA structures interact with host immune proteins. We also develop open-source database tools, audited benchmarks, algorithms and language models to advance predictions of RNA structure.

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Quentin Vicens

Quentin Vicens, Sc.D.
Assistant Professor

Department of Biology and Biochemistry
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-5001

Office: SERC, 4021
Phone: 713-743-2696
qvicens@uh.edu

Chrysa Latrick

Chrysa Latrick, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor

Department of Biology and Biochemistry
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-5001

Office: SERC, 4022
Phone: 713-743-9782
cmlatrick@uh.edu

Nivedita Dutta

Nivedita Dutta, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar

Cameron Ptak

Cameron Ptak
Senior Technical Assistant, SURF Awardee (2024)

Courtney Le

Courtney Le
Graduate student, Biochemistry, TLRS Awardee (2026–2030)

Arub Nihad

Arub Nihad
Graduate Student, Cell and Molecular Biology

Steven Mendoza

Steven Mendoza
Graduate Student, Biochemistry, NIH/GCC/HAMBP Awardee (2026–2027)

Mahbuba Rahman

Mahbuba Rahman
Undergraduate Student, Biology, PURS Awardee (2025)

Quinn Nguyen

Quinn Nguyen
Undergraduate Student, Computer Science

Angelina Albelo

Angelina Albelo
Undergraduate Student, Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences, SURE Awardee (2026), Senior Honors thesis student (2026)

Muad Shaikh

Muad Shaikh
Undergraduate Student, Biology and Computer Science, SURF Awardee (2026), N. Catherine Cominsky Scholarship Awardee (2026)

Arnuv Modh

Arnuv Modh
Volunteer

Gabriel Galvez

Gabriel Galvez, B.S.
Volunteer, PURS Awardee (2025)

Jennifer Pearl

Jennifer Pearl, B.A.
Volunteer

Alumni

  • Mary Adesina
    Graduate Student, Cell and Molecular Biology, AAUW Awardee (2025–2026)
  • Aiden Li
    Undergraduate Student, Biology
  • Fartun Yussuf
    Undergraduate Student, Biology, PURS Awardee (2024)

Z-RNA biology

  • Krall JB, Beck LG, Nichols PJ, Vicens Q, Henen MA, Vögeli B. ZBP1's Inability to Convert Unmodified RNAs to the Z-form Underlies a Balanced Mechanism of RNA Recognition with ADAR1. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Apr 22:2026.04.21.719927. doi: 10.64898/2026.04.21.719927. PMID: 42079158; PMCID: PMC13131548.
  • Chin D, Luo Y, Lau Y, Dutta N, He Z, Yin C, Williams RM, Balachandran S, Vicens Q, Dröge P, Luo D. Cryo-EM structures of anti Z-DNA antibodies in complex with antigen reveal distinct recognition modes of a left-handed geometry. Nucleic Acids Res. 2026 Apr 13;54(7):gkag325. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkag325. PMID: 42003556; PMCID: PMC13092980.
  • Langdon N, Kroft C, Fang Q, Krall J, Rincon M, Vögeli B, Vicens Q, Henen MA. Cromolyn as a novel pharmacophore of the Zα domain of the RNA-editing enzyme ADAR1p150. Protein Sci. 2025 Nov;34(11):e70341. doi: 10.1002/pro.70341. PMID: 41075184; PMCID: PMC12514971.
  • Nichols PJ, Riemondy KA, Krall JB, Ramos J, Goering R, Henen MA, Taliaferro JM, Vögeli B, Vicens Q. Z-Form Stabilization By The Zα Domain Of Adar1p150 Has Subtle Effects On A-To-I Editing. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jun 3:2025.06.02.657529. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.02.657529. PMID: 40502085; PMCID: PMC12157636.

RNA structure determination & prediction

  • Galvez GC, Vicens Q. Shifu: an integrated framework for deep learning of RNA secondary structure. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Jul 16:2026.07.15.738762. doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.15.738762.
  • Dutta N, Vicens Q. elDORS: An elevated Database Of RNA Sequences. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Jul 14:2026.07.10.737016. doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.10.737016.
  • Magnus M, Gao W, Dutta N, Vicens Q, Rivas E. RNAhub-an automated pipeline to search and align RNA homologs with secondary structure assessment. Nucleic Acids Res. 2025;53(W1):W496-W502. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaf342

Additional publications featured on Dr. Vicens’ Google Scholar profile.

Honors & Awards

President’s Circle Award

Organizations, Outreach, Boards, Memberships