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Consultant in AI/computational drug discovery, structural biology

Consultant

AI and computational drug discovery. Generative AI methods, lead optimization, virtual screening

Principal Scientist

Currently volunteer adjunct status. Research is in AI drug discovery for cancer, immunology, and infectious disease. Previous research program was in computational structural biology/chemistry and protein crystallography, with a focus on machine learning, structure-based drug design, molecular dynamics, virtual screening, cancer, immunology, malaria, COVID19. Projects included RORgamma, SHP2, EZH2, drug resistant estrogen receptor, aromatase, fluorescent proteins, applications of machine learning to chemistry and drug discovery, identification of druggable sites on proteins, malarial kinases, GPCRs. Founder of OSC19, an open source drug discovery consortium for COVID-19. Anti-aging drug discovery Biophysical interests include developing methods for analyzing hydrogen atoms in x-ray and neutron crystallography data, super-resolution image processing of microscopy images, and biosensor proteins. We have also discovered potent RORgamma antagonists, aromatase inhibitors, an SHP2 inhibitor, and an EZH2 inhibitor. Taught advanced biochemistry, biochemistry for non-majors, medical biochemistry, molecular biophysics, general chemistry.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics

NSF CAREER Awardee for research on locating hydrogen atoms in X-ray and neutron crystal structures. Taught general chemistry, biophysical chemistry, research ethics, structural biology, and biochemistry. University teaching award nominee. Directed the largest lab on campus, with 25 students. Champion for student diversity.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest protein family of drug targets. Project responsibilities include recombinant expression, purification on the milligram scale, characterization, crystallization, and solving crystal structures of GPCRs. Established the crystallography lab at Confometrx. Part of team that crystallized and solved the novel structure of a GPCR. Worked directly under Nobel laureate Brian Kobilka.

Sr. Scientist

Protein crystallography, biochemistry, biophysics, computational biology. Solved crystal structure of red fluorescent protein engineered for in vivo mammalian imaging, elucidating red shift mechanism, in collaboration with Nobel laureate Roger Tsien. Solved crystal structure and proposed solvent/ion transport mechanism for the iron storage protein ferritin. Supervised undergraduate and PhD students.

Associate Specialist

With Prof. Tom Alber. NIH Postdoctoral fellowship. Protein crystallography, biochemistry, biophysics, computational biology. Solved crystal structures of 2 protein kinases and 2 phosphatases involved in tuberculosis pathology. Crystallized the 400 kD yeast septin cytoskeletal protein complex. Developed computational method for characterizing low occupancy protein conformations in x-ray crystallography electron density maps. Supervised undergraduate and PhD students.

Postdoctoral fellow

MD/PhD student researcher with National Academy members Profs. David Eisenberg and Richard Dickerson. NIH MSTP graduate fellowship. Solved the crystal structure of DNA with DNA binding drugs. Solved the first crystal structure of DNA in an intermediate conformation between A- and B-DNA, published in PNAS. Codeveloped an algorithm for predicting protein-protein interactions based on homologous gene fusions, published in Science with 2000+ citations.