Prof. Rickie Patani  - Translational and clinical science leadership - NUS

Prof. Rickie Patani is a physician–scientist with over 15 years of experience using human induced pluripotent stem cell models to study neurodegeneration, with a particular focus on RNA metabolism and cell-autonomous disease mechanisms. He is currently Director of the Neurobiology Programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Professor of Neuroscience in the Departments of Medicine and Anatomy.

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In close collaboration with Prof. Luisier, Prof. Patani’s research has identified key RNA-driven hallmarks of ALS and FTD, including aberrant intron retention and widespread nucleocytoplasmic mislocalisation of RNAs and RNA-binding proteins, linking these processes to DNA damage. His lab has recently identified pathogenic and therapeutically targetable intron retention events in ALS, as well as intron-based prognostic biomarkers (under review), with relevance extending to broader neurodegenerative diseases such as FTD and Alzheimer’s disease.

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Within SATURNA, Prof. Patani brings the clinical and translational vision, guiding the development of RNA-based therapeutic strategies and ensuring that discoveries are aligned with unmet clinical needs. Through his leadership at NUS, he also plays a central role in the internationalisation of the program, anchoring SATURNA within a global network of clinical neuroscience and stem cell research. Experimental data generated in his laboratory feed directly into SATURNA’s AI-driven modelling efforts, creating an iterative bench-to-model-to-bench loop that accelerates hypothesis generation and translational impact.