David B. Smithrud

Biography

David Smithrud is currently an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati. He received his BS degree in chemistry at the University of Washington. From there, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles and received his PhD. Under the guidance of Prof. Diederich, he developed synthetic host-guest complexes; with special emphasis on the effect solvents have on complexation. He joined Prof. Benkovic&39;s group at the Pennsylvania State University. As a post-doctoral student and NIH fellow, he further investigated and exploited molecular recognition events through the development of catalytic antibodies. These studies included constructing phage display libraries of M13 and lambda bacteriophages, synthesizing haptens, and performing molecular cloning and kinetic analysis. He joined the Chemistry Department at UC. Our research group uses mimetic chemistry to investigate the intricate interplay that exist between functional groups at protein binding domains in order to determine the underlying forces that give proteins their unique ability to recognize molecules and to develop novel synthetic devices. This research has produced novel binding agents, cell transport agents, and compounds that bind the major groove of DNA

Research Interest

• Molecular recognition • Cell transport • DNA binding agents • Peptidomimetics • Host-Guest chemistry • Catalysis •Synthesis