It is increasingly recognized that in addition to sequence and structure, the dynamic properties of nucleic acids, are also important for their function. This is because nucleic acids employ conformational changes to carry out multi-step biochemical reactions cycling between various conformational states needed for binding and catalysis. My Ph.D. research project in Al-Hashimi lab is to develop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methods combined with quantum mechanics and computational modeling for ‘imaging’ the structural dynamics of DNA and RNA at atomic resolution. I hope to use this knowledge to fill gaps in our understanding of the degree to which DNA and RNA structural dynamics influences their biochemistry and the fundamental processes that govern living cells, drive evolution and cause various diseases; and to develop RNA targeting small molecule therapeutics to address diseases ranging from AIDS to COVID-19.