Ribosomes have recently emerged to directly function in gene regulation. Our lab focuses on how regulation of gene expression is directly executed by the ribosome, particularly in the innate immune response. Roles for ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in gene regulation remain largely unexplored. Our lab studies a fundamentally new mode of gene regulation I discovered as a postdoc, by which rRNA regions exposed on the outer shell of the ribosome called rRNA expansion segments (ESs) bind to selective transcripts to control mRNA- and species-specific translation (1, 2). Ribosomes have thereby evolved the ability to discriminate which proteins are made for selective translation via rRNA. rRNA ESs consist of a multitude of highly variable, tentacle-like rRNA structures that extend from the conserved rRNA core in eukaryotes with largely unknown roles in translation. This work unravels species-specific, selective mRNA-rRNA interactions on the ribosome for translation. We combine innovative RNA biochemistry and RNA-based technology development with model systems ranging from yeast to macrophages. Further, we designed a platform to screen for favourable mRNA features for optimized RNA therapeutics (3). My own lab aims to decipher how rRNA-directed specialized translation is employed by the ribosome in the innate immune response.