Sandor Lovas, PhD

Department

• Biomedical Sciences

Position

• Professor

Cancer Research Focus

My lab studies the conformation-biological activity relationships in peptides/proteins that inhibit cancer growth, such as cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and glioblastoma. We also examine the description of solution structure of polypeptides by Molecular Dynamics simulations and vibrational and/or electronic circular dichroism spectropolarimetry and the effects of weakly polar interactions on peptide/protein structures.

Cancer Research Area(s)

• Brain Cancer
• Drug Discovery and Development
• Skin Cancer

Articles

• , 42(2), 232-242
• , 11, 3267-3278
• , 20(17), 4194; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20174194
• , 20(6), 1261; doi:10.3390/ijms20061261
• , https://doi.org/10.17952/35EPS.2018.202, 202-203
• , 86(3), 279-300, doi: 10.1002/prot.25439
• , 210286; doi: 10.1101/210286
• , 85(6), 1024-1044, doi:10.1002/prot.25270,
• , 23, 1061-1071
• , 290, 24326-24339
• , 104, 156-166
• , 2:93, doi: 10.3389/fchem.2014.00093. PMID: 25368867, PMCID: PMC4201147.
• , 104, 156-166
• , 311, 25-35
• , 117, 6175-6186
• , 20, 3303-3313
• , 19, 616-624. doi:10.2174/092986612800493968
• , 18, 252-260, doi: 10.1002/psc.2393
• , 125, 1039-1047. doi: 10.1242/jcs.097337
• , 11, 90. doi:10.1186/1472-6750-11-90
• , 50, 5154–5162. doi:10.1021/bi200147a
• , 115, 4971-4981. doi: 10.1021/jp111076j

Research and Scholarship Interests

• Conformation-biological activity relationships in peptides/proteins including GnRH, gastrin, antibacterial peptides, amyloidogenic peptides and chlorotoxins. Structural characterization of prestin. Inhibtion of biological activity of 14-3-3e protein.  Description of solution structure of polypeptides by Molecular Dynamics simulations and ab initio quantum chemical calculations. Effects of weakly polar interactions on peptide/protein structures using the above theoretical methods and vibrational  and/or electronic circular dichroism spectroscopy.
   

Current Research Projects

• Inhibition of biological function of 14-3-3 proteins
  Inhibition of skin cancer growth
  Mechanism of Amyloid beta aggregation

Grant Funding Received

• NSF-EPSCoR Major Research Research Instrumentation Program: High-Performance Computing Cluster for Biomolecular Calculations
• NSF-EPSCoR Major Research Research Instrumentation Program: High-Performance Computing Cluster for Biomolecular Calculations
• LB595 Program; Project Title: Molecular Mechanisms and Novel Targets in Cancer. Project PI: Novel therapeutic targets for nonmelanoma skin cancer Dates: 7/1/14-6/30/19; Role: collaborator
• NSF-EPSCoR Major Research Research Instrumentation Program, Project title: A high-throughput multi-user Biacore surface plasmon resonance system for studying biomolecular and biochemical interactions.

• Hansen, L.A., Lovas, S., and Palermo, N.: 14-3-3 targeting peptides for cancer treatment” 100900144USU1, 2020
• New Antitumor GnRH Analogs and Pharmaceutical Compositions Containing Them as Active Agents. Hungarian Patent 212661; C07K 7/06 A61K 33/08, 1994, Inventors: Mezo, I.; Lovas, S. et al., 2003
• Biocidal Molecules, Macromolecular Targets and Methods of Production and Use. International Application PCT/US01/01812, 2006, Inventors: Otvos, L.; Thurin, M.; Rogers, M.; Lovas, S., 2001
• NOVEL GnRH ANALOGUES WITH ANTITUMOR EFFECTS AND PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITIONS THEREOF. (PCT/US01/01812), 2000