John M. Gerdes

John M. Gerdes
Associate Professor

Email: john.gerdes@umontana.edu

Phone: (406) 243-4084

Lab: (406) 243-6246/4740

John Gerdes came to the UM Chemistry Department during fall 2001 as a faculty member and a participant in the NIH COBRE Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience. After completing undergraduate work in Chemistry at Colorado State University in 1978, John worked with Bill Okamura and received a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the University of California at Riverside (1982). Following a postdoctoral position with Bill Dauben at U. C. Berkeley, he joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) as a staff scientist at the Center for Functional Imaging in 1986. During 1991 he began his industrial experience, working for Zeneca, Ltd., which was followed by a faculty post within the Department of Chemistry at Central Washington University (1995).He teaches undergraduate and graduate level organic and medicinal chemistry courses and manages the COBRE Molecular Computational Core facility.

 

Research Interests

Our research is performed in a collaborative group setting and encompasses a full spectrum of medicinal chemistry studies of the serotonin (5-HT) system and other integrated complexes found within the central nervous system (CNS). Many of the investigations are focused on pre- and post-synaptic CNS ligands and the structure-function of various 5-HT protein receptors (transporter, 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A-C). These studies are performed through computational modeling ventures for target molecule identification and the use of a broad variety of established organic transformations and the development of novel synthetic protocols.

Our efforts involve small molecule superposition-consensus pharmacophore model generation through innovative computational means. The models generated subsequently serve to drive various de novo drug design venues and synthetic initiatives, including the fabrication of novel therapeutic agents, diagnostic probes and biochemical reagents. Many of our studies subsequently assess the new agents with in vitro pharmacological assays and then whole animal studies. Of particular interest are those investigations that are carried out with collaborators within the UM COBRE Center and also those at the Center for Functional Imaging, LBNL. In the latter collaboration, select candidate drugs from our laboratory are evaluated as CNS functional brain imaging agents in living brain.

Other areas of investigation include experiments to further understand the details of lipophilic interactions between ligands and receptors. These efforts are in the context of CNS steroid manifolds coupled to the serotonin system, and involve experiments of ligand-protein X-ray crystallography structure acquisitions, the measurement of thermodynamic variables for ligand-receptor binding events, the generation of new computational algorithms, and comprehensive database mining.

Our research also entails the study of synthetic organic reaction mechanisms related to the production of [18F]fluoro- and [11C]carbon-drug substrates for use in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging studies. A portion of this effort involves the use of very high pressures (15 Kbar) to assist the radiolabeling protocols. Additionally, our work involves the study of new synthetic methodology towards the construction of CNS active heterocyclic products (indoles, quinolines, chiral ∂-lactones, and alike).

Representative Publications

Gerdes JM, DeFina SC, Wilson PA, Taylor SE (2000) Serotonin Transporter Inhibitors: Syntheses And Binding Potency of (rac)-2'- and (rac)-3'-Methyl-6-nitroquipazine. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 10:2643.

James DR, Gerdes JM, Baker DR, Mielich S, Knudsen CG, Michaely WJ, Fitzjohn S, Mathews C (2001) Synthesis and Structure-Activity Relationships of Benzoheterocyclic and Pyridoheterocyclic Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase Herbicides. ACS Symposium Seruies No. 800: Synthesis and Chemistry of Agrochemicals, Volume VI; Baker, Dr. et al., Eds.; Chapter 7.

Gerdes JM, Keil R, Shulgin AT, Mathis CA (1996) High Pressure Nucleophilic Fluoride Ion Substitution Reactions: Formation of Fluoroalkylbenzenes. J Fluor Chem 78:121.

Mathis CA, Mahmood K, Huang Y, Simpson NR, Gerdes JM, Price J (1996) Synthesis and Preliminary In Vivo Evaluation of [11C] MDL 100907: A Potent and Selective Radioligand for the 5-HT2A Receptor System, Med Chem Res 6:1.

WO 9510188: Fisher KJ, Gerdes JM, Woolard FX (1995) New Herbicidal Compositions - Comprising New and Known Bis-phosphonic Acid Compounds.

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