The Willi Lab at the University of Lethbridge focuses on RNA biology, ribosome engineering, synthetic biology, and cell-free protein synthesis. Our central theme revolves around understanding how ribosomes evolved, how they naturally vary, and how they can be redesigned to perform new functions for biotechnology, medicine, and industrial biomanufacturing.
Find out how and why we engineer the ribosome.
View the complete list of publications from the Willi Lab.
Get to know current and past members of the Willi Lab.
Get in touch and see where the research happens.
News Release: Infrastructure investment by Canada Foundation for Innovation supports University of Lethbridge research labs, on UNews
Press coverage on ET-bio (extraterrestrial biomanufacturing)
News Release: University of Lethbridge lab collaborates with Canadian Space Agency on extraterrestrial biomanufacturing project by Trevor Kenney, on UNews
STRATOS ICARUS 2026 Launch Campaign site
Meida Adisory: Willi Lab featured STRATOS 2026 Campaign: Canadian experiments to be tested in space-like environment by Canadian Space Agency on Canada.ca
Press coverage of the octopus story, our collaboration with the Bellono and Lee labs. The Willi lab contributed the E.coli aspect of the paper.
Ella Watson wins Best Undergraduate Talk at RiboWest 2026 at UBC Okanagan
Roza Gabdullina wins People's Choice in the 2026 Images of Research Award Competition for her illustration Switching Genes
Both Roza Gabdullina (1st Place) and Carrigan Dawson (4th Place) win Poster Awards at the 2026 Women in STEM Conference
Roza Gabdullina wins the Agility Awards for Innovation at the 18th Annual Chinook Symposium for Chemistry and Biochemistry
News Release: University of Lethbridge researchers awarded federal research grants worth more than $3 million, on UNews
Dr. Willi wins 2025 Banting Discovery Award:
Willi lab featured in the 2022-2024 CSBM Bulletin prepared by Chris-Tiann Roberts, Ashraf Kadar Shahib, and Mojgan Rastegar
RNA Canada New Researcher Highlight: Jessica Willi by Mark Bayfield
Interview with for ACID:BASE Pride in STEM by Elizabeth Trofimenkoff
Dr. Jessica Willi Advances Biochemistry Research at ULethbridge by Hilary Hulsey
