Faculty & Research

Education

M. Sc., M. Phil., Ph. D., Yale University, 1982-1984 (fastest awarded Ph. D. in Yale history).

Sr. Research Scientist, Max-Planck-Institut fuer biophysikalische Chemie, Abteilung Manfred Eigen, Goettingen, Germany, 1986-1989.

Research Associate (1985-1987), Visiting Senior Research Scientist (1994-1996), Princeton University.

Licenciado en Matematica (1980), Quimico (1979), Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina.

Ariel Fernández has contributed to a wide spectrum of research areas: Algebra, Representation Theory, Statistical Mechanics, Chemical Physics, Polymer Physics, Dissipative Systems, Molecular Biophysics, Interactive Proteomics and Bioinformatics. He has also perfomed and reported experimental work.

Additional Awards and Appointments

• Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awardee, 1991
• Camille and Henry Dreyfus Distinguished New Faculty Awardee, 1989
• John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow, 1995-1996
• Visiting Senior Researcher, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Biochemie, Abteilung Robert Huber, Martinsried, Germany, 2000-
• Visiting Senior Scientist, Institute for Nonlinear Science, University of California at San Diego, 1989
• Editorial Board Member, Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry, Basel, Switzerland, 2000-
• Guest Professor, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Japan, 2003
• Fulbright Scholar, US Information Agency, 1999 and Fulbright Fellow, 1981
• McKnight Fellow, USA, 1989
• Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and Max Planck Society Scholar, Goettingen, Germany (1987-1989)
• Feinberg Fellow, Israel, 1984-1985
• Professor and Principal Investigator, UNS and Natl. Res. Council of Argentina, 1994-
• Medal "State of Buenos Aires" to the best graduate, Argentina, 1980
• Deputy Governor, American Biographical Institute, 1998-
• Co-organizer and Proceedings Editor of the Miami Bio/Technology Winter Symposium, Nature-sponsored, 1993.

Research Interests

Prof. Fernández (born April 8, 1957) is interested in cooperativity and many body problems associated with biopolymer folding and interactions. He introduced the concept of structural wrapping and established its importance in the realms of protein interactivity, network centrality, molecular disease and drug discovery. The implications of the wrapping concept for biotechnology are sketched in the following contribution:

Ariel Fernández: "Keeping Dry and Crossing Membranes". Nature Biotechnology 22, 1081-1084 (2004).

His current research interests are centered in understanding how proteins may enhance their interactive versatility while their fold remains conserved. In this regard, his contributions to systems biology stem from his biostructural physico-chemical background. His most recent publications along these lines are:

Ariel Fernández: "Functionality of wrapping defects in soluble proteins: What cannot be kept dry must be conserved". Journal of Molecular Biology 337, 477-484 (2004)

Ariel Fernández, L. Ridgway Scott and R. Stephen Berry: "The nonconserved wrapping of conserved folds reveals a trend towards increasing connectivity in proteomic networks". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 101, 2823-2827 (2004)

Ariel Fernández and R. Stephen Berry: "Molecular dimension explored in evolution to promote proteomic complexity". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 101, 13460-13465 (2004)

Dr. Fernández has also introduced the paradigm of "inhibitor as a wrapper of packing defects in proteins", a concept of paramount impact in drug discovery. One of his recent contributions in this realm is:

Ariel Fernández, Kristina Rogale, Ridgway Scott and Harold A. Scheraga: "Inhibitor design by wrapping packing defects in HIV-1 proteins", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 101, 11640-11645 (2004).

Projects

Bioinformatics

Laboratories

High Performance Computing Laboratory