BS Southwest Missouri State University, 1981
PhD University of California at Berkeley, 1991
Postdoctoral Associate, Harvard Medical School, 1991-1993 

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Virginia, 1993-2000
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 2000-2009
Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 2009-present

Honors and Awards:
NIH FIRST Award, 1996
University Teaching Fellowship, University of Virginia, 1996

The three-dimensional structures of proteins have an inherent beauty. We explore the nature of protein structure by designing and synthesizing conformationally-constrained mimics of peptides, a process of sculpture on the molecular level. The molecules we design using computers are small and amenable to short, stereoselective synthesis using known reactions. We are making biopolymers inspired by the structural protein, collagen. We are making Pin1 and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, and investigating the anti-cancer potential of these compounds.

   

1. G. G. Xu, Y. Zhang, A. Y. Mercedes-Camacho, F. A. Etzkorn, Reduced-Amide Inhibitor of Pin1 Binds in a Conformation Resembling a Twisted-Amide Transition State. Biochemistry, 2011, in press, doi: 10.1021/bi201055c.
2. Namanja, A. T.; Wang, X. J.; Xu, B.; Mercedes-Camacho, A. Y.; Wilson, K. A.; Etzkorn, F. A.; Peng, J. W., Stereospecific gating of functional motions in Pin1. Proc Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 2011, 108 (30), 12289-12294. doi:10.1016/j.str.2007.01.014
3. Namanja, A. T.; Wang, X. J.; Xu, B.; Mercedes-Camacho, A. Y.; Wilson, B. D.; Wilson, K. A.; Etzkorn, F. A.; Peng, J. W., Toward Flexibility-Activity Relationships by NMR Spectroscopy: Dynamics of Pin1 Ligands. J. Am. Chem.Soc. 2010, 132, (16), 5607-5609. doi:10.1021/ja9096779, doi: 10.1021/bi201055c
4. Mercedes-Camacho, A. Y.; Etzkorn, F. A., Enzyme-linked enzyme binding assay for Pin1 WW domain ligands. Anal. Biochem. 2010, 402 (1), 77-82. doi.org/10.1016/j.ab.2010.03.018, doi: 10.1021/bi201055c
5. Xu, G. G.; Etzkorn, F. A., Convergent Synthesis of alpha-Ketoamide Inhibitors of Pin1. Ot. 2010, 12 (4), 696-699. DOI:10.1021/ol9027013