Profile:

I am currently a Senior Scientist at D. E. Shaw Research in New York City, where I work on the Chemistry, Biology, and Drug Discovery team. I also hold a courtesy appointment as an Assistant Professor of Computational Biomedicine at the Institute for Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell, where I am able to participate as a course lecturer or thesis committee member.

As a theoretical and computational biophysicist, I am primarily interested in the mechanistic study of allosteric biomolecules and the drugs that modulate them. To do so, I utilize simulation methods from computational physics and chemistry in combination with theoretical and modeling tools from statistical mechanics, information theory, and machine learning. The molecular-level insights provided by these approaches are invaluable in both constructing a physical understanding of biomolecular function and designing novel therapeutics that function allosterically. Currently my focus is on protein-protein interactions and the design of peptide biologics, but I lead a wide portfolio of projects that span drug discovery, basic research, and methodological development.

I am also interested in education in the fields of chemistry, biology, and physics, with a specific interest in quantitative and computational science. In addition to traditional outreach, I am actively engaged in science comedy, storytelling, and writing.

Curriculum Vitae

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Positions:

Senior Scientist / Member of the Technical Team, D. E. Shaw Research (Oct 2017 - Present)

  • Applied Computational Chemist/Biophysicist on the Chemistry, Biology, and Drug Discovery team

Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College (Aug 2020 - Present)

  • Assistant Professor of Computational Biomedicine at the Institute for Computational Biomedicine (Courtesy)

Instructor at Weill Cornell Medical College (Dec 2017 - Aug 2020)

  • Instructor of Computational Biophysics in Computational Biomedicine at the Institute for Computational Biomedicine (Courtesy)

Institute Fellow at Weill Cornell Medical College (May 2016 - Oct 2017)

  • Independent principal investigator at the Institute for Computational Biomedicine (ICB)

  • Joint faculty appointment at the level of Instructor in the ICB and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics

Graduate Student at Weill Cornell Medical College (July 2011 - April 2016)

  • Graduate student in the lab of Harel Weinstein at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics

Research Training:

Laboratory of Harel Weinstein, DSc at Weill Cornell Medical College (October 2011 – April 2016)

  • Development of computational tools for the investigation of protein-detergent complexes

  • Development of theoretical methods based on statistical mechanics, information theory, and network theory for the analysis of allostery, with a focus on the application to GPCRs and transporters

  • Development of statistical mechanics-based methods for analysis of multiple sequence alignments

Laboratory of Jeffry Madura, PhD at Duquesne University (May 2010 – May 2011)

  • Investigation of the role of a conserved motif in the bacterial transporter LeuT using computational biophysics techniques

Laboratory of John Kirn, PhD at Wesleyan University (January 2009 – May 2011)

  • Characterization of adult-born neuron migration in zebra finches using site-specific microinjections of GFP retroviruses and 2-bromo-deoxyuridine

Laboratory of Frank Scalzo, PhD at Bard College (June 2008 – August 2008)

  • Characterization of dextromethorphan’s ability to alleviate conditioned place preference to ethanol in zebrafish as well as teratology associated with embryonic exposure

Laboratory of Craig Anderson, PhD at Bard College (September 2007 – May 2008)

  • Synthesis of multi-nuclear complexes of platinum and ruthenium using bridging ligands containing nitrogen, sulphur or phosphorus

Oral Presentations:

  • To fit and to function: Can MD simulations predict how small molecules modulate their target? New York Area Group on Informatics and Modeling, November 2020. Invited lecture.

  • Supercomputer vs. Super Virus. Boston Area Group on Informatics and Modeling, April 2020. Invited panel on open science and COVID-19.

  • D. E. Shaw Research. University of California Berkeley, October 2019. Career seminar.

  • D. E. Shaw Research. Stanford University, October 2019. Career seminar.

  • A Decade Under Allosteric Regulation or: How I Learned to Stop Begging the Question. Molecular Biophysics Department Retreat, Wesleyan University, September 2019. Invited alumni lecture.

  • D. E. Shaw Research. Cambridge University, May 2019. Career seminar.

  • D. E. Shaw Research. Kings College London, May 2019. Career seminar.

  • Characterizing gene regulation with the computational microscope. Biology Department Seminar Series, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, October 2018. Invited seminar.

  • D. E. Shaw Research. Princeton University, October 2018. Career seminar.

  • Thermodynamic coupling in neurotransmitter reuptake. Chemistry Department Lecture Series, The College of New Jersey, October 2017. Invited seminar.

  • Thermodynamic coupling in neurotransmitter reuptake. Chemistry Symposia, Wesleyan University, September 2017. Invited seminar.

  • "Mind the gap: bridging statistical and physical models of allostery." ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 2017.

  • "Hallucinogens, Functional Selectivity, and Lots of Trees." 3DSig Structural Bioinformatics and Computational Biophysics @ ISMB, Orlando, FL, August 2016.

  • "From Physics to Phenotype: New Insights into Allosteric Mechanisms in LeuT." Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, March 2016.

  • "From Physics to Phenotype: New Insights into Allosteric Mechanisms in LeuT." Physiology, Biophysics, & Systems Biology Program Retreat, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, November 2015.

  • "NbIT: An n-body information theory framework for understanding collective motions in proteins." 3DSig Structural Bioinformatics and Computational Biophysics @ ISMB, Boston, MA, July 2014.

  • "Extracting understanding from entropy using N-body Information (NbIT) analysis." Entropy in Biomolecular Systems Workshop, Vienna, Austria, May 2014.

Awards and Fellowships:

  • Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences Student Service Award (Weill Cornell Graduate School Convocation, New York, NY, May 2016)

  • Best Oral Presentation Award (Physiology, Biophysics, & Systems Biology Program Retreat, New York, NY, November 2015)

  • Best Poster Award (Physiology, Biophysics, & Systems Biology Program Retreat, New York, NY, November 2014)

  • Best Poster Award (3DSig Structural Bioinformatics and Computational Biophysics @ ISMB, Boston MA, July 2014)

  • Anatrace Travel Award (Frontiers in Membrane Protein Structural Dynamics, Chicago IL, May 2014)

  • National Research Service Award F31 Fellowship (NIH/NIDA, 2013-2017)

  • Training Grant in Pharmacological Sciences T32 Fellowship (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2012-2013)

  • Scott Biomedical Prize (Wesleyan University, 2011)

  • NSF/REU-DOD/ASSURE Fellowship (Duquesne University, Summer 2010)

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellowship (Wesleyan University, Summer 2009)

  • Bard Summer Research Institute Fellowship (Bard College, Summer 2008)

Teaching:

  • Co-Instructor, Quantitative Understanding in Biology II (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2017)

  • Co-Instructor, Quantitative Understanding in Biology I (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2016)

  • Teaching Assistant, Quantitative Understanding in Biology II (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2016)

  • Teaching Assistant, Quantitative Understanding in Biology I* (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2015)

  • Teaching Assistant, Computational Methods in Healthcare Informatics (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2015).

  • Co-Instructor, Scientific Computing in Biomedicine (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2014)

  • Teaching Assistant, Quantitative Understanding in Biology I and II (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2014)

  • Teaching Assistant, Logic and Experimental Design (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2013-2014)

  • Peer Advisor for Transfer Students (Wesleyan University, 2011)

  • Dean's Tutor, Introductory Chemistry, Introductory Biology, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry (Wesleyan University, 2010-2011)

  • Mentor, Organic Chemistry Mentored Study Group (Wesleyan University, 2010)

  • Math Teacher, PROSPECT @ Upward Bound, a program for gifted but underprivileged middle school students (Wesleyan University, 2009-2010)

Scientific Outreach:

  • Collaborator, Guerilla Science (2018)

  • Faculty Advisor, Outreach Committee (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2016-2017)

  • Co-founder and Co-Chair, Outreach Committee (Weill Cornell Medical College, 2014-2016)

  • Mentor, Students Modeling a Research Topic (SMART) Program (2012-2018, Fieldston School)

Professional Societies:

  • Biophysical Society

  • American Chemical Society

Peer Reviewer at:

  • PLoS Computational Biology

  • Biophysical Journal

  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry B

  • Entropy

  • BBA Biomembranes

  • Molecules

  • International Journal of Molecular Sciences

  • Symmetry

  • Physical Biology

  • Computational Biology and Chemistry

Science Comedy, Storytelling, and Related Work

  • The Secret Life of PhDs, The Symposium: Academic Stand-Up (Caveat, New York, NY, September 2018)

  • The Freudian Speakeasy, The Sensorium (Figment NYC, New York, NY, June 2018)

  • You might be having a drug-induced psychotic episode within a simulated universe…but probably not. Science Exclamation Point (Caveat, New York, NY, October 2017)

  • The Smug Hypothesis, The Festival of Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, November 2014)

Education:

Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University – New York, NY

  • Attended July 2011 - April 2016

  • PhD in Physiology, Biophysics & Systems Biology

  • Dissertation: "From Physics to Phenotype: Novel Approaches to the Study of Allosteric Mechanisms"

  • Advisor: Harel Weinstein

Wesleyan University – Middletown, CT

  • Attended September 2008 – May 2011

  • Majors: Chemistry, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Neuroscience & Behavior

  • Certificate in Molecular Biophysics

  • High Honors in Chemistry, Bachelor of Arts

  • Honors Thesis: “A Possible Motif in EL4b of NSS Transporters May Control Inhibitor Binding”

Bard College – Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

  • Attended August 2007 – May 2008