Dr. Adekunle Aina

Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Physics, University of British Columbia

I apply computational techniques including those based on the principles of Physics and AI to engineer proteins for the development of therapeutics.

Biography

Computational Biophysics, Protein Design, Drug Discovery

4 years in biotechnology industry;
8 years in academic research;
8 peer-reviewed journal publications;
2 US patent applications;
$200,000 in research funding.

Research Interests and Current Projects

Active

Protein design for future medicines

Our lab pioneers research at the intersection of physics and biology, harnessing the power of computational tools to design proteins, immunogens, and antibodies with atomic-level precision. We design proteins with novel functions, design immunogens to elicit specific immune responses, and design antibodies to target previously undruggable diseases. By leveraging biomolecular simulations, we uncover the intricate secrets of molecular interactions, paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in medicine and biotechnology. Join us in this exciting frontier of computational biophysics and be a part of revolutionizing the future of healthcare!

Selected Publications

Shawn C.C. Hsueh, Mark Nijland, Adekunle Aina, and Steven S. Plotkin, Cyclization Scaffolding for Improved Vaccine Immunogen Stability: Application to Tau Protein in Alzheimer’s Disease, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling 64 (6), 2035–2044. (2024)
Adekunle Aina, Shawn C.C. Hsueh, Ebrima Gibbs, Xubiao Peng, Neil R. Cashman, and Steven S. Plotkin, De Novo Design of a β-helix Tau Protein Scaffold: An Oligomer-Selective Vaccine Immunogen Candidate for Alzheimer’s Disease, ACS Chemical Neuroscience 14 (15), 2603–2617. (2023)
Adekunle Aina, Shawn C.C. Hsueh, and Steven S. Plotkin, PROTHON: A Local Order Parameter-Based Method for Efficient Comparison of Protein Ensembles, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling 63 (11), 3453–3461. (2023)
Ebrima Gibbs, Beibei Zhao, Andrei Roman, Steven S. Plotkin, Xubiao Peng, Shawn C.C. Hsueh, Adekunle Aina, Jing Wang, Clay Shyu, Calvin K. Yip, Sung-Eun Nam, Johanne M. Kaplan, and Neil R. Cashman, Rational Generation of Monoclonal Antibodies Selective for Pathogenic Forms of Alpha-Synuclein, Biomedicines 10 (9): 2168. (2022)
Adekunle Aina, and Stefan Wallin, Multisequence Algorithm for Coarse-Grained Biomolecular Simulations: Exploring the Sequence-Structure Relationship of Proteins, Journal of Chemical Physics 147, 095102. (2017)