Andrew Placzek Email & Phone Number

Portland, Or, Us

Portland, Oregon Area

Research Associate – OHSU Medicinal Chemistry Core Facility • Collaborated with academic and industry clients to design and implement medicinal chemistry and drug discovery projects.• Performed in silico drug design and high-throughput virtual ligand screening for multiple clients.• Designed a synthetic route for the industrial (WuXi AppTec) production of a potential therapeutic (4’-phosphopantethiene) for patients with pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration.

Portland, Or

Joined one of the nation’s top chemical biologists (Thomas Scanlan) to synthesize and test thyroid hormone analogs for treating neurological diseases. Discovered a novel strategy of increasing the CNS accumulation of sobetirome, resulting in the discovery of a potential clinical candidate for MS patients. OHSU RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:  Designed and synthesized novel prodrugs of sobetirome for inducing remyelination in multiple sclerosis patients.  Performed a biodistribution and pharmacokinetic study of prodrugs and sobetirome in mice.  Optimized cellular assays for assessing potency of thyroid hormone analogs in vitro  Performed qPCR analysis of mouse brains to determine RNA expression resulting from prodrugs.  Designed novel synthetic routes for the production of 3H-Sobetirome and d6-sobetirome sobetirome.  Optimized the synthetic route for thyroid hormone receptor agonists and antagonists.  Developed an HPLC and LC/MS assay for measuring sobetirome concentration in biological matrices.  Synthesized 3-iodothyronamine chemical tools: fluorescently labeled, radiolabeled, and photoactivatable probes.  Optimized the synthetic route for thyroid hormone receptor antagonists.  Provided expertise to help identify thyroid hormone metabolites in Graves’ disease patient serum.  Performed combinatorial screening of new thyroid hormone analogs with Schrodinger molecular modeling software

West Lafayette, In

Joined the laboratory of Richard A. Gibbs and developed new synthetic methodology for producing novel farnesyl pyrophosphate analogs. One highly advanced analog was successfully utilized by several colleagues and collaborators to isolate farnesylated proteins and examine their biological role in cancer. PURDUE RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS:  Designed synthetic routes leading to novel farnesyl pyrophosphates for their use in chemical biology applications.  Synthesized isotopically-labeled isoprenoids and arachidonic acid derivatives for collaborators.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Medicinal Chemistry And Molecular Pharmacology

Bachelor'S Degree, Chemistry