01:00 pm
Introduction by the Session Chair
Dr MariJean EGGEN
ELI LILLY, Indianapolis, United States
01:05 pm
Hijacking Molecular Plasticity to Fine Tune Nuclear Receptor Signaling: Stuctural Proteomics and Precision Therapeutics (IL02)
Prof. Patrick GRIFFIN
THE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Jupiter, United States
My scientific career has focused on understanding the dynamics of protein structure and how it relates to function. I received my PHD in Chemistry at the University of Virginia working in Don Hunt’s lab during the birth of biological mass spectrometry and proteomics. After, at Genentech worked on structural analysis of therapeutic proteins and then did a postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech with Lee Hood focused on applications of biological mass spectrometry and. In 1991, I joined Merck Research Laboratories as a protein chemist working in various therapeutic areas such as inflammation and metabolic disorders. During my tenure at Merck, as Senior Director of Chemistry, my research team made significant contributions towards the discovery of MK-0431, a DPP4 inhibitor now in clinical use, and towards clinical development of DMP-777, an elastase inhibitor for treatment of cystic fibrosis. My responsibilities at Merck included overseeing the discovery DMPK operation within Chemistry supporting preclinical development. I also directed the Molecular Profiling Proteomics platform which was involved in mechanism of action studies, selectivity profiling, and biomarker discovery for all Merck programs worldwide. In 2002, I left Merck to become CSO of ExSAR, a biotech company focused the use of HDX mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to aid in the development of chemical chaperones for protein misfolding disorders. In 2004, I joined The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Scripps Florida as Professor and in 2007 was named founding Chair of the Department of Molecular Therapeutics. In 2017 was named Chair of Molecular Medicine. As PI, Co-PI, and co-investigator on several NIH-funded grants, my research continues to focus on protein structure and function, particularly on mutational- and ligand-mediated alterations in protein structural plasticity, as well as quantitative SAR to facilitate lead optimization of molecules targeting therapeutic proteins. Using mutagenesis, HDX-MS, crystallography, and NMR my research is focused on structure-function of nuclear receptors, enzymes, and membrane receptors.
For the first half of my career I was in industry where there was less of an emphasis on publications. However, over the last 16 years as an academic I have published >200 peer-reviewed manuscripts. According to Google Scholar I have an h-index of 78 (59 since 2015). Below is a URL for My Bibliography of Patrick R. Griffin; some papers are under Griffin P. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/patrick.griffin.1/bibliography/public/
01:35 pm
Exhibitor Short Presentation - NovAliX
NovAliX: Drug Discovery fueled with Biophysics
Dr James TARVER
NOVALIX, Philadelphia, United States
01:45 pm
Synergistic Use of Ligand Based NMR and Crystallography to Elucidate Small Molecules Interactions with Challenging Targets (OC04)
Dr Ariele VIACAVA FOLLIS
EMD SERONO R&D INSTITUTE INC, Stow, United States
Ariele Viacava Follis earned a Batchelor’s degree in Organic Chemistry from the Universita’ di Pavia, Italy in 2004, followed by a PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Georgetown University (2009). At Georgetown, under mentorship by Dr. Steven Metallo he studied small molecules interactions with the intrinsically disordered oncogenic transcription factor c-Myc. From 2009 until 2016 Ariele was a Postdoctoral researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Dr. Richard Kriwacki’s group where he studied molecular mechanisms of apoptotic regulation by p53 and BCL2 family proteins using NMR spectroscopy. Since 2017 Ariele has worked at EMD Serono with focus on structural biology, biophysics and molecular modelling. Through his career Ariele has authored over 20 research articles including first author publications in Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Molecular Cell.
02:00 pm
Exhibitor Short Presentation - Wuxi Biortus Biosciences Co., Ltd.
Your Partner for Proteins and Structures
Dr Yujian YOU
WUXI BIORTUS BIOSCIENCES CO., LTD., Jiangyin, China
02:10 pm
Fragment Screening Reveals a Novel Pocket in Cysteine Protease ATG4B (OC05)
Dr Troy JOHNSON
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER, Houston, United States
Dr. Troy Johnson received his Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry from Emporia State University, he went to graduate school at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City where he worked in the lab of Dr. Todd Holyoak. Upon graduation with his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, he moved to Baylor college of medicine and worked as a post-doc for 18 months focusing on breast cancer. He then moved over to MD Anderson and worked in the lab of Dr. John Ladbury focusing on additional cancer targets. Approximately 5 years ago he moved into his current Research Scientist role within the Therapeutics Discovery Division. He is a structural biologist and protein chemist that is focused on early stage drug discovery.
02:25 pm
Exhibitor Short Presentation - Bruker
An Introduction to Bruker SPR Technology
Mr Cameron PARAST
BRUKER SCIENTIFIC, Billerica, United States
02:35 pm
Inhibition of the Cysteine Desulfurase in the SUF Pathway of Iron-Sulfur Cluster Biogenesis Towards Development of Novel Antibacterials (OC06)
Dr Amy BONCELLA
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES, Golden, United States
Dr. Amy Boncella earned her B.A. degree in biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and then completed a year-long post-baccalaureate position under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Martinez at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She completed her Ph.D. in chemistry at Colorado State University under the supervision of Professor Eric Ross in 2019 and is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Christine Morrison at Colorado School of Mines. Her current work is focused on utilizing fragment- and structure-based drug discovery approaches to identify and develop inhibitors of iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis pathways in bacteria as precursors to novel antibacterials.
02:50 pm
Identification, Characterization and Conformational Assessment of STING Modulators (IL03)
Dr Daniel WYSS
MERCK & CO., INC., Morristown, United States
Daniel Wyss is currently a Senior Principal Scientist and BioNMR Team Lead in Computational and Structural Chemistry at Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. He co-leads the Fragment-Based Lead Discovery (FBLD) efforts in the organization and his team applies structural biophysics methods to support drug discovery across a wide variety of modality platforms. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Basel, Switzerland, and carried out post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School. Before joining Merck, Daniel worked in various functions at Procept, Inc. (Immunology & Infectious Disease) and at the Schering-Plough Research Institute (Drug Discovery across Therapy Areas).