Dennis A. Dougherty (born December 4, 1952, in

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

) is the George Grant Hoag Professor of Chemistry at

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. His research applies

physical organic chemistry Physical organic chemistry, a term coined by Louis Hammett in 1940, refers to a discipline of organic chemistry that focuses on the relationship between chemical structures and chemical reaction, reactivity, in particular, applying experimental to ...

to systems of biological importance. Dougherty uses various approaches to understand of the human brain, including ''in vivo'' nonsense suppression, which incorporates unnatural amino acids into

ion channel Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by Gating (electrophysiol ...

s for structure-function studies.

Education

Dougherty received his B.S. and M.S. in 1974 from

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

. Subsequently, he earned his Ph.D. in 1978 under the supervision of

Kurt Mislow Kurt Martin Mislow (June 5, 1923 – October 5, 2017) was a German-born American organic chemist who specialized in stereochemistry. Early life and education Born in Berlin on June 5, 1923, Mislow had moved to London by 1938, after some time in ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and was a post-doctoral scholar in Jerome Berson's lab at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1979.

Career

In 1979 Dougherty became a member of the Caltech faculty, earning tenure in 1985. He pioneered the investigation of the role of

cation–π interaction Cation–π interaction is a noncovalent molecular interaction between the face of an electron-rich π system (e.g. benzene, ethylene, acetylene) and an adjacent cation (e.g. Li+, Na+). This interaction is an example of noncovalent bonding betwe ...

s in protein structure, molecular recognition and enzyme catalysis. He is the scientific co-founder of Neurion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In 2005 he published a textbook entitled ''Modern Physical Organic Chemistry'' with co-author

Eric V. Anslyn Eric V. Anslyn (born June 9, 1960, Santa Monica, California) is an American chemist, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Welch Regents Chair in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously held the Norman Hackerman P ...

. Dougherty is the recipient of multiple teaching awards including the Richard Badger Teaching Award (1992), the ASCIT Excellence in Teaching Award (1987 and 2000), and the Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2010). In 2009, he was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Awards

* Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar (1984–1989) * AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award (1991) * Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1992) * Javits Neuroscience Investigator, NIH (2004) * ACS James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry (2008) * Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2010) *

Arthur C. Cope Award The Arthur C. Cope Award is a prize awarded for achievement in the field of organic chemistry research. It is sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund, and has been awarded annually since 1973 by the American Chemical Society. It consists of $25,000, ...

(2020)

Professional memberships

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

Biophysical Society The Biophysical Society is an international scientific society whose purpose is to lead the development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. Founded in 1958, the Society currently consists of over 7,000 members in academia, government, an ...

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well k ...

* National Academy of Sciences (2009) * Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1994) * Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1999)

Personal life

He currently lives in South Pasadena with his wife Dr. Ellen Dougherty, the superintendent of the Lawndale Elementary School District.

References

External links

NeurionDougherty Lab WebsiteDennis A. Dougherty lab pageCaltech Chemistry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty, Dennis A. 21st-century American chemists 1952 births People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences