Professor Krugh's group is interested in the three-dimensional structure of RNA oligomers, with an overall goal of relating structure to biological function. Two-dimensional NMR experiments are used to assign nucleic acid NMR resonances, and to measure intermolecular distances for energy minimization and molecular dynamics calculations used to determine three-dimensional structures. We are interested in the structure of RNA hairpins, which are single strands of RNA that fold to form a structure resembling a hairpin. The sequence and structure of an RNA hairpin containing a loop of six bases is shown in Figure 1. The G4 and A9 bases are part of the loop, and form hydrogen bonds to one another. The remaining bases in the loop do not form base-to-base hydrogen bonds. In collaborative studies with Professor Douglas Turner and his group, we are investigating the structure of RNA duplexes containing various motifs. The overall goal of these structural studies is to provide a basis for correlation between sequence and structure.