Crystallography, Structure and Function of Biological Macromolecules. MACROM

AYMAMI, JOAN

Edifici ETSEIB, PG0
Av. Diagonal, 647
Campus Sud - UPC
08028 BARCELONA
joan.aymamiarrobaGupc.edu

 
Personal information

Name:

Department:

Center:

Juan Aymamí Bofarull

Chemical Engineering

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Research interest
- Molecular biology, recombinant DNA technology.
- Protein-DNA interactions, chromatin remodelling (especially sperm chromatin remodelling).
- DNA remodelling associated proteins: structure and function.
  • Structural Biology
  • Drug Discovery
  • Polymer Structure


Short CV

Dr. Aymami studied Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Universitat de Barcelona and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. He worked as a postdoc at the University of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was Visiting Scientist at the New York State Department of Health (NIH), the Institute of Cancer Research (UK) and Université de Paris. Currently, he holds a research position at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

 

His major contributions have been in the field of polymer chemistry, molecular modeling, 3D reconstitution by electron microscopy, nucleic acid structure and drug-DNA interactions. Later he focusses on drug discovery that includes the three dimensional structure of the interactions of drugs with the therapeutic target and the use of biophysical methods in drug discovery.

 

His work has been published in scientific journals such as Nature, Nature Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Journal of Molecular Biology, PNAS, Angevante Chemie and he also holds several patents on the drug discovery field.

 

As Founding Manager of Crystax Pharmaceuticals in 2002, he implemented a drug discovery platform based on the fragment screening methodology and established several research agreements with European Pharmaceutical Companies. This work was awarded with Emprenedor XXI and ENISA to innovation on Life Sciences.

 

In 2011 he co-founded, together with Dr. Xavier Barril and Dr. Marc Martinell, Minoryx Therapeutics, a company dedicated to find new cures for orphan diseases.

 

Selected Publications
Molecular Recognition of a Three-Way DNA Junction by a Metallosupramolecular Helicate. Oleksi A., Blanco A., Boer R., Usón I., Aymamí J., Rodger A., Hannon M., Coll M. Angew. Chem. Int Ed Engl. 8:1227-31 (2006)

Comments on press:
  • Investigadores españoles identifican una via desconocida hasta ahora para leer  el  DNA. El Pais 8/03/2006
  • Front Cover: Angew. Chem. Int.8 (2006)
The antimalarial drug cryptolepine intercalates specifically into DNA at cytosine-cytosine sites. Lisgarten J. Coll M., Portugal J., Wright C.W. and Aymami J. Nature Struct. Biol. 9,57-60 (2002).

Comments on press:
  • Balas contra el cáncer.  J. Aymami & M. Coll.  El Cultural de El Mundo, 12-18 Dic. 2001, pp 64-65.
  • Una sustancia usada en Africa contra la malaria se revela como antitumoral. El  Pais. 2/1/2002. Pag. 32
  • Nueva prespectiva en la lucha contra los tumores. Portada. El Pais 2-1-2002
  • Getting stuck in.  Nature Rev. Drug Discovery 1,9(2002)
  • How Tarzan vine tackles tumors. The Lancet oncology 3:72 (2002)
  • Questa cura arriva per caso. Panorama. 7/2/2002. Italia.
  • Experts del CSIC i la UPC troben un nou mecanisme d'acció de farmacs. Avui 13/1/2002
  • Un compuesto antipalúdico es también antitumoral. Correo Farmaceutico. Semana 10 al 17 de Diciembre 2001
  • La criptolepina une su perfil antimalárico al de tipo antitumoral.  Diario Medico. 10/12/2001
Crystal structure of a DNA Holliday junction. Ortiz M., Gonzalez A., Eritja R., Aymami J., Azorin F., Coll M. Nature Struc. Biol. 6, 913-917(1999).

Comments on press:
  • Editorial: The Holliday junction is finally  seen  with crystal clarity. Nature Struc. Biol. 6,  897-899(1999).
  • Editorial: Holliday model of recombination. Nature Struc. Biol. 6, 908-909(1999).
  • Front cover: Nature Struc. Biol. 6, (1999).
  • Un equipo español logra ver el punto de recombinación genética. El Pais. 6/10/1999
A pseudo  alfa-helix from poly(gama-isobutil-L-aspartate), a nylon-3 derivative. Fernandez J.M.,  Aymami J.,  Rodriguez A., Muñoz-Guera S.,  Subirana J.A. Nature 311,53-54. (1984).

Comments on press:
  • Editorial: Nobel helical conformation in a nylon. Nature 311,16.(1984).
  • Cataluña abre la vía hacia la lana sintética. El Periodico 12/09/1984