Robert Doerksen
Professor of BioMolecular Sciences
Phone Number: (662)915-7052
Email: rjd@olemiss.edu
http://www.robertjdoerksen.com

Key Words: computational chemistry; medicinal chemistry; glycoscience; molecular modeling; physical chemistry

Research Description:

My major area of research is computational medicinal chemistry. The weight of human disease is so burdensome that there is pressing need for the kinds of research we have pursued or are currently attempting for new approaches to drug discovery for tuberculosis, cancer, malaria, hepatitis B and other liver diseases, pain, addiction, and Alzheimer's disease.

My research projects focus on computational and theoretical approaches to chemical problems having to do with the structure and interactions of molecules. We apply the laws of physics to molecules using computer hardware and software that has been developed to allow for sufficiently accurate results to be obtained to provide useful solutions to a wide range of challenges in medicinal chemistry, natural products, and drug delivery. We use docking, molecular dynamics, and ab initio calculations of various kinds for computational glycoscience, protein modeling, protein-ligand interactions, drug design and discovery, and natural product characterization.

We frequently collaborate with other research groups.

Honors Theses:

Custer, Ashton Taylor (2022) Lectin-Glycan Complexes: A Comprehensive Analysis of Docking Calculations (full text)