Conference Speakers
Ortwin Ertl, MBA
Founder & CEO of Annikki
Ortwin Ertl started Annikki GmbH in 2007 with the vision to make biobased chemical products and materials at a cost below the existing petrochemical counterparts by using a novel biocatalytic approach coupled in part with a biomass fractionation process to obtain pure intermediates. He also holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Treemera GmbH, which is a company focused on the industrial manufacturing of environmentally friendly plastics derived from starch and sugar.
Mr. Ertl holds an MBA in business administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Nicole Hashemi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University
Dr. Nicole Hashemi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University. Her research interests are in the areas of microfluidics, biomedical microdevices, and materials. She is the recipient of the 2023 NSF Mid-CAREER Advancement Award for her placenta-on-a-chip project. She has also been the recipient of the NSF EAPSI Fellowship, NRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, NRL Research Publication Award, Big 12 Faculty Fellowship Award, and ISU Early Career Engineering Faculty Research Award. Hashemi has also been selected as both the National Academy of Engineering US Frontiers of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences Kavli Frontiers of Science. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is an Associate Editor of npj Women's Health and ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.
Jana Shen, Ph.D.
Professor and Codirector of Computer-Aided Drug Design Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Dr. Jana Shen's academic journey spans three continents. She earned her Diplom Chemie from Bergische Universität Wuppertal in Germany, a Master's in Theoretical Chemistry from the University of Calgary, Canada, and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Minnesota. After her postdoctoral work at the Scripps Research Institute, she began her independent career at the University of Oklahoma in 2007. In 2012, Jana joined the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and was promoted to full professor in 2019. Her research group combines molecular dynamics, quantum mechanics, and machine learning to investigate inhibitor and opioid structure-activity relationships and advance proteomewide covalent drug discovery.
Read Dr. Jana Shen's presentation abstract
John J. Turchi, Ph.D.
Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Professor of Lung Cancer Research and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine
John J. Turchi, Ph.D. is the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Professor of Lung Cancer Research and a Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He is the President, Co-founder, and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of NERx Biosciences. Dr. Turchi received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Clemson University and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester and his research interests lie in DNA damage and repair in the context of cancer therapy.
Florence Williams, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Iowa
Dr. Florence Williams obtained her Ph.D. at University of California, Irvine working on organometallic catalysis with Prof. Elizabeth Jarvo. After post-doctoral research in chemical biology at Princeton in the lab of Prof. Dorothea Fiedler, Florence began her independent career at University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and then in 2019 moved to University of Iowa. Her research involves using boron Lewis acids to selectively cleave strong σ bonds, including in complex materials settings, as well as mechanistic investigations of neurotrophic small molecules that have potential applications in neurodegenerative disease.
Rose Gogal
Graduate Research Assistant, Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Iowa
Rose began her PhD in biomedical engineering in August 2020 after graduating from Penn State with a B.S. in the same field. Rose’s research focuses on computational methods for studying protein biochemistry with applications to deafness and hearing loss associated proteins. Specifically, Rose has developed an algorithm for fast prediction of protein acid-base chemistry. This method will be applied to deep learning predicted deafness protein models of monomers and complexes. Rose also uses high-throughput methods of quantifying the effects of missense variants on protein structure and binding. In Rose’s free time, she enjoys cuddling with her cats, painting, or making pottery.
Ali Khan, B.S.
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Pathology, The University of Iowa
Ali Khan was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan and moved to New York for his undergraduate degree. Given the interdisciplinary nature of today’s research, he explored a variety of fields, including biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, bioinformatics, and even electrical engineering at SUNY Oswego during his undergraduate education. Given his strong interest in cancer signaling, he joined Dr. Tanas’ lab to understand the role of PI3 kinase signaling and Hippo pathway in sarcomagenesis. His long-term goal is to therapeutically target these pathways to improve patient care.
Christopher Vidmar
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Iowa
Christopher Vidmar is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Iowa. His research focuses on developing innovative drug delivery systems that harness bacteria’s natural targeting abilities for localized treatment, aiming to enhance therapeutic effectiveness. He completed a fellowship with the CBB and was recognized for his research impact by winning the College of Engineering's Three Minute Thesis competition. His internship at Boston Scientific provided crucial experience in medical device development. By integrating his expertise in both drug delivery and medical devices, Christopher aims to advance cutting-edge medical technologies.
2024 Conference Program
September 28, 2024
College of Pharmacy Building (CPB), University of Iowa, Iowa City
7:30 – 8:15 | Reception and Continental Breakfast – 210 Atrium | |
8:15 – 8:30 | Mark Arnold: Welcome and Introduction – 210 CPB | |
| Professor Robert Kerns, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics | |
| Maria Spies Presiding | ||
8:30 – 9:15 | John Turchi, Indiana University | Targeting DNA Damage Response Sensors for First-in-Class Cancer Therapy |
9:15 – 10:00 | Jana Shen, University of Maryland | AI Models to Discover Covalently Druggable Sites Across the Proteome |
10:00 – 10:15 | Break | |
| Ned Bowden Presiding | ||
10:15 – 11:00 | Florence Williams, University of Iowa | Progress Towards Uncovering the Mechanism of Action for Neurotrophic trans-Banglene |
11:00 – 11:45 | Ortwin Ertl, Annikki GmbH | High-Volume Chemicals from Biomass – By Means of a Unique Fractionation Technology and Enzymatic Reactions |
11:45 – 12:00 | Relocation to CPB Atrium | |
12:00 – 12:45 | Lunch and Poster Session A | |
12:45 – 1:30 | Lunch and Poster Session B | |
1:30 – 1:45 | Relocation to seminar room – 210 CPB | |
| Jennifer Fiegel Presiding | ||
1:45 – 2:30 | Nicole Hashemi, Iowa State University | Biophysiological Model of Barriers: Engineered Blood-Brain Barrier and Placental Barrier |
2:30 – 2:50 | Chris Vidmar, Chemical & Biochemical Engineering | Exploring Interactions between Chemically Produced Bacterial Ghosts and G-Protein Coupled Receptors |
2:50 – 3:10 | Rose Gogal, Biomedical Engineering | Leveraging Statistical Mechanics for Protein Acid-Base Chemistry Prediction |
3:10 – 3:30 | Ali Khan, Pathology | Phosphoinositol-3 kinase signaling can be synergistically targeted in sarcoma cancer cells |
3:30 – 3:40 | Michael Schnieders – Presentation of Student Poster Awards | |
3:40 – 3:45 | Mark Arnold – Final Comments | |