Dan
Mentor, Principal Investigator
Dan grew up in Westville, NJ (a suburb of Philadelphia) before moving to South Florida for college at the University of Miami (Go 'Canes!). While at Miami, Dan began his foray into organic chemistry in the lab of Dr. Norito Takenaka. In the Takenaka lab, he prepared novel helically chiral catalysts and began to appreciate the power of the fluorine atom and, unrelated, the Diels-Alder reaction.
After earning his degree in 2011, his interests in organic synthesis led him to Nashville, TN, and the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Johnston at Vanderbilt University for graduate school. The bulk of his Ph.D. focused on developing new methods for the synthesis of complex amino acids using chiral proton catalysis. These methods were then applied to the synthesis of small molecule therapeutics, including a human proteasome inhibitor.
Hoping to continue contributing to improving human health, Dan then decided that it was a great idea to move North and go to medical school. In 2016, he matriculated into the M.D. program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, earning his degree in May 2021.
After medical school, he was bitten by the research bug again and joined the lab of Dr. Jonathan Marchant (at MCW) as an NIH- and AHA-funded postdoctoral fellow. Here, he was able to indulge his interests in drug discovery for infectious diseases, learn receptor pharmacology, and attempt to understand British accents. In Jonathan's lab, Dan discovered a first-in-class broad spectrum flukicide to treat parasitic fluke infections. He also contributed to molecular modeling efforts and the discovery of the biological targets of different antiparasitic drugs.
In June of 2024, Dan moved to Charleston, SC to open his independent lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at MUSC!
In his spare time, Dan enjoys playing saxophone, flying flight simulators, learning about the history of beers, and cheering on (being tortured by?) his Miami Hurricanes, Philadelphia Eagles, and Phillies.
After earning his degree in 2011, his interests in organic synthesis led him to Nashville, TN, and the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Johnston at Vanderbilt University for graduate school. The bulk of his Ph.D. focused on developing new methods for the synthesis of complex amino acids using chiral proton catalysis. These methods were then applied to the synthesis of small molecule therapeutics, including a human proteasome inhibitor.
Hoping to continue contributing to improving human health, Dan then decided that it was a great idea to move North and go to medical school. In 2016, he matriculated into the M.D. program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, earning his degree in May 2021.
After medical school, he was bitten by the research bug again and joined the lab of Dr. Jonathan Marchant (at MCW) as an NIH- and AHA-funded postdoctoral fellow. Here, he was able to indulge his interests in drug discovery for infectious diseases, learn receptor pharmacology, and attempt to understand British accents. In Jonathan's lab, Dan discovered a first-in-class broad spectrum flukicide to treat parasitic fluke infections. He also contributed to molecular modeling efforts and the discovery of the biological targets of different antiparasitic drugs.
In June of 2024, Dan moved to Charleston, SC to open his independent lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at MUSC!
In his spare time, Dan enjoys playing saxophone, flying flight simulators, learning about the history of beers, and cheering on (being tortured by?) his Miami Hurricanes, Philadelphia Eagles, and Phillies.
