Benjamin Bobay
Research Associate, Senior

I am the Assistant Director of the Duke University NMR Center and a senior research associate in the Duke Radiology Department. I was originally trained as a structural biochemist with an emphasis on utilizing NMR and continue to use this technique daily helping collaborators characterize protein structures and small molecules through a diverse set of NMR experiments. Through the structural characterization of various proteins, from both planta and eukaryotes, I have developed a robust protocol of utilizing computational biology for describing binding events, mutations, post-translations modifications (PTMs), and/or general behavior within in silico solution scenarios. I have utilized these techniques in collaborations ranging from plant pathologists at the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences department at the University of Amsterdam to biomedical engineers at North Carolina State University to professors in the Pediatrics department at Duke University. These studies have centered around the structural and functional consequences of PTMs (such as phosphorylation), mutation events, truncation of multi-domain proteins, dimer pulling experiments, to screening of large databases of ligands for potential binding events. Through this combination of NMR and computational biology I have amassed 50 peer-reviewed published articles and countless roles on scientific projects, as well as the development of several tutorials with regard to the creation of ligand databases and high-throughput screening of large databases utilizing several different molecular dynamic and computational docking programs.

Current Research Interests

I'm currently a Senior Research Associate at the Duke Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Center (DMRSC) and have over 20 years of experience in the characterization of protein structures and protein:small ligand interactions. The DMRSC provides access to high field NMR instrumentation, training in the use of NMR methods, and expert consultation on advanced NMR applications. The Center serves as a research resource and shared instrument facility for research programs at Duke and in the Southeastern region. My efforts are dedicated to the Chemistry Department and the maintenance, operation, training, etc. of the FFSC NMR facility as well as my own research interests. My interests lie with utilizing NMR, computational docking, and molecular dynamics simulations for characterization of bio-molecules and their interactions.

I am currently involved with one major research effort. I have an ongoing project with a multi-PI RO1 team aimed at developing anti-fungal inhibitors. We have made significant advances towards the goal of developing a fungal specific, non-immunosuppressive calcineurin inhibitors and have published five peer reviewed journal articles over the past few years.

My research interest focus on the determining structure to function activities of biomolecules (protein, DNA, RNA, carbohydrates, polymers, etc.) with ligands. Primarily my research is aimed at determining the structure, dynamics and function of important proteins and protein complexes using high-resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. My early work solely centered around the use of NMR experiments to characterize protein structures. Throughout my career I have continued my efforts in NMR and have added computational modeling, docking, and dynamic simulations with a heavy reliance on statistical analysis of those results. This unique combination has led to many peer reviewed manuscripts with significant results.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Contact Information

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