Abhinav Nath
Associate Professor, Medicinal Chemistry
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry Faculty, Nath Lab, Plein Center for Aging Faculty, School Faculty
Telephone: (206) 616-4586
Email: anath@uw.edu
Website: Nath Lab
Education
- B.A. (Chemistry and Biology), University of Virginia
- Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry/Biomolecular Structure & Design), University of Washington
- Postdoc (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry), Yale University
Research Interests
- Protein aggregation in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
- Protein self-assembly
- Biologics and protein-based therapeutics
Taking Students: Yes
Biography
Abhinav “Abhi” Nath earned his BA (in Biology and Chemistry) from the University of Virginia in 2003, and his PhD (in Medicinal Chemistry and Biomolecular Structure & Design) from the University of Washington in 2008, where he worked with Bill Atkins on understanding the mechanisms of substrate binding by cytochrome P450s and other drug-metabolizing enzymes. He then moved to Yale University for postdoctoral training with professors Liz Rhoades and Andrew Miranker, where he was an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellow and studied intrinsically disordered and amyloid-forming proteins using single-molecule fluorescence and computational methods.
The Nath lab is interested in understanding the roles of protein dynamics in human health and disease. Proteins display a fascinating spectrum of dynamic behavior, ranging from some that are almost static to others that rapidly interconvert between a diverse ensemble of structures. The nature, amplitude and timescales of protein conformational fluctuations can be crucial to biological functions such as enzyme catalysis and intracellular signaling. Mutations, post-translational modifications and environmental factors can perturb protein dynamics – and hence normal function – in ways that are difficult to predict.
Abhi and his group are developing new and powerful methods to characterize and control protein dynamics, building on recent advances in biophysics, biochemistry and pharmacology from groups around the world. They focus on proteins involved in degenerative disorders (such as Alzheimer’s disease), the oxidative stress response, and drug metabolism.
Recent Publications
Rigorous Analysis of Multimodal HDX-MS Spectra. Tuttle LM, James EI, Georgescauld F, Wales TE, Weis DD, Engen JR, Nath A, Klevit RE, Guttman M. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2025 Feb 5;36(2):416-423.
Drugs Form Ternary Complexes with Human Liver Fatty Acid Binding Protein (FABP1) and FABP1 Binding Alters Drug Metabolism. Yabut KCB, Martynova A, Nath A, Zercher BP, Bush MF, Isoherranen N. Mol Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 5:MOLPHARM-AR-2024-000878.
Investigating the association between CYP2J2 inhibitors and QT prolongation: a literature review. Wiley AM, Yang J, Madhani R, Nath A, Totah RA. Drug Metab Rev. 2024 Mar 20:1-19.
Tryptanthrin Analogs Substoichiometrically Inhibit Seeded and Unseeded Tau4RD Aggregation. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Feb 3:2024.02.02.578649.
The origins of nonideality exhibited by monoclonal antibodies and Fab fragments in human serum. Protein Sci. 2023 Dec;32(12):e4812.
Low molecular weight ligands bind to CYP3A4 via a branched induced fit mechanism: Implications for O2 binding. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2023 May 1;739:109582.
MitoNEET’s Reactivity of Lys55 toward Pyridoxal Phosphate Demonstrates its Activity as a Transaminase Enzyme. ACS Chem Biol. 2022 Oct 21;17(10):2716-2722.
Structure-Activity Relationships of Novel Tau Ligands: Passive Fibril Binders and Active Aggregation Inhibitors. ACS Chem Biol. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):701-708.