Dr. Gabriel Cornilescu is a Senior Scientist specializing in Biomolecular Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and structural biology at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (NCI/NIH), Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. He first studied Atomic and Molecular Physics at the University of Bucharest, and then followed a Chemical Physics Program at the University of Maryland College Park. His research focuses on applying the latest NMR techniques to explore proteins encoded by mutant forms of RAS genes to create new and effective therapies for RAS-related cancers and structure-function relationship of macromolecules (proteins/RNA/DNA) with the goal of understanding their interaction and response to various ligands as well as smaller molecules like peptides, natural products, ligands, etc. Some of his projects include: structural study of a 70 kDa tetrameric chaperone using a peptide mimic of a protein binding partner, refinement of large RNA structures with RDCs and SAXS, dynamic structural changes of a cyanobacteriochrome between its dark and photoactivated states, high-pressure NMR studies, and many more.
