Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry

Robert J. Kerns Division of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa tel: 319-335-8800 fax: 319-335-8766 email: robert-kerns@uiowa.edu Kerns Research Presentation Kerns Research Group
Education
B.S. Chemistry, Iowa State University, Department of Chemistry - 1987 to 1991 Ph.D. Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry NIH Predoctoral Fellow, Traineeship in Biotechnology, The University of Iowa, College of Pharmacy - 1992 to 1996

Professional Experience

Predoctoral Traineeship in Biotechnology, Research Externship, AMGEN, Thousand Oaks, CA- January 1995 to May 1995, Supervisor: Dr. Andre Venot

NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, (NRSA Through the NIAID) , Princeton University, Department of Chemistry - 1996 to 1998, Sponsor: Professor Daniel Kahne

Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Wayne State University, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 1998-2002 (Associate Appointment, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine)

Assistant Professor of Medicinal & Natural Products Chemistry, University of Iowa, College of Pharmacy, 2002 - 2006

Associate Professor of Medicinal & Natural Products Chemistry, University of Iowa, College of Pharmacy, 2006 - present

Awards

2004 Collegiate Teacher of the Year, University of Iowa College of Pharmacy

2004 Class of 2007 Teacher of the Year, University of Iowa College of Pharmacy

2000 - 2001 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, New Investigators in Pharmacy Award

2000 - 2003 American Heart Association, Midwest Affiliate, Scientist Development Grant

1997 - 1998 National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship - National Research Service Award, distributed through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

1994 - 1996 National Institutes of Health Predoctoral Fellowship - A competitive traineeship in Biotechnology awarded through The University of Iowa Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing program

Representative Publications

Huang, L.; Fernández, C.; Kerns, R.J. Different protein-binding selectivities for N-acyl heparin derivatives having N-phenylacetyl and heterocycle analogs of N-phenylacetyl substituted in place of N-sulfo groups, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2007, 17, 419-423.

Zhao, X.; Quinn, B.; Kerns, R.J.; Drlica, K. Bactericidal activity and target preference of a piperazinyl-crosslinked ciprofloxacin dimer with Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 2006,58, 1283-1286.

Fernández, C.; Hattan, C.M.; Kerns, R.J. Semi-synthetic heparin derivatives: chemical modifications of heparin beyond chain length, sulfate substitution pattern and N-sulfo/N-acetyl groups. Carbohydr. Res. 2006, 341, 1253-1265.

Huang, L.; Kerns, R.J. Diversity-Oriented Chemical Modification of Heparin: Identification of Charge-Reduced N-Acyl Heparin Derivatives Having Increased Selectivity for Heparin-Binding Proteins. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2006, 14, 2300-2313.

Kerns, R.J.; Rybak, M.J.; Cheung, C.M. Susceptibility studies of piperazinyl-cross-linked fluoroquinolone dimers against test strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 2006, 54, 305-310.

Wei, P.; Kerns, R.J. Chemoselective deprotection and functional group interconversion of ring-fused 2N,3O-oxazolidinones of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Tetrahedron Lett. 2005, 46, 6901-6905.

Wei, P.; Kerns, R.J. Factors Affecting Stereocontrol during Glycosidation of 2,3-Oxazolidinone Protected 1-Tolylthio-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. J. Org. Chem. 2005, 70, 4195-4198.

Malik, M.; Lu, T; Zhao, X.; Singh, A.; Hattan, C.M.; Domagala, J.; Kerns, R.J.; Drlica, K. Lethality of Quinolones against Mycobacterium smegmatis in the Presence or Absence of Chloramphenicol. Antimicrobial Agents Chemother. 2005, 49, 2008-2014.

Wei, P.; Kaatz, G.W.; Kerns, R.J. Structural Differences Between Paroxetine and Femoxetine Responsible for Differential Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus Efflux Pumps. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2004 14, 3093-3097.

Gould, K.A.; Pan, X-S.; Kerns, R.J.; Fisher, L.M. Ciprofloxacin Dimers Target Gyrase in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Antimicrobial Agents Chemother. 2004 48, 2108-2115.

Kerns, R.J.; Zha, C.; Benakli. K.; Liang YZ. Extended Applications and Potential Limitations of Ring-Fused 2,3-Oxazolidinone Thioglycosides in Glycoconjugate Synthesis. Tetrahedron. Lett. 2003, 44, 8069-8072.

Kerns, R.J.; Rybak, M.J.; Kaatz, G.W.; Vaka, F.; Cha, R.; Grucz, R.G.; Diwadkar, V.U. Structural Requirements of Piperazinyl-Linked Fluoroquinolone Dimers for Activity Against Drug-Resistant Strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2003, 13(13), 2109-2112.

Kerns, R.J.; Rybak, M.J.; Kaatz, G.W.; Vaka, F.; Cha, R.; Grucz, R.G.; Diwadkar, V.U.; Ward, T.D. Piperazinyl-Linked Fluoroquinolone Dimers Possessing Potent Antibacterial Activity Against Drug-Resistant Strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2003, 13(10), 1745-1749.

Benakli, K.; Zha, C.; Kerns R.J. Oxazolidinone Protected 2-Amino-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose Derivatives as Intermediates in Stereoselective Oligosaccharide Synthesis and the Formation of Alpha-Linked Glycosides. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 9461-9462.

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