Researchers

Olaf G. Wiest, Ph.D.

Olaf G. Wiest, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Contact Information

Biography

Professor Wiest obtained his Diploma (M.S) and his Dr. rer. Nat. (Ph.D.) degrees in chemistry in 1991 and 1993, respectively, from the University of Bonn in Germany. Subsequently, he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California at Los Angeles as a Feodor Lynen Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame in 1995. He obtained early career development awards from both NSF and NIH. In 2001 he was the recipient of a Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award.

Research Interests

Professor Wiest's research interests center on mechanisms and models of DNA photolyase, computational drug design, and structure, reactivity, and selectivity of hydrocarbon radical cations. In particular, Professor Wiest's group has designed, synthesized, and tested artificial photolyases-small molecules capable of repairing photo-damaged DNA-to treat light-damaged skin. In collaboration with other members of the Drug Design Group in the Walther Cancer Research Center at Notre Dame as well as Walther Cancer researchers at Purdue University, his research group is also studying new approaches to the detection and treatment of prostate and breast cancer using structure and ligand based computer-aided molecular design.

Publications

Wiest O, Harrison CB, Sax M, Saettel NJ, Cibulka R, König B. Design, synthesis, and evaluation of a biomimetic artificial photolyase model. J Org Chem 2004; 69: 8183-8185 (this paper was selected for the cover page of a December 2004 issue of JOC). link

Ding P, Helquist P, Chen Y, Oliver AJ, Wiest O, Miller MJ. Syntheses of conformationally restricted molecules as potential NAALADase/PSMA inhibitors. Org Lett 2004; 6: 1805-1808. link

Wang DF, Wiest O, Helquist P, Lan-Hargest HY, Wiech NL. On the function of the 14Å long internal cavity of histone deacetylase like protein: implications for the design of histone deacetylase inhibitors. J Med Chem 2004; 47: 3409-3417. link

Zabell APR, Corden S, Helquist P, Stauffacher CV, Wiest O. Inhibition studies with rationally designed inhibitors of the low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase. Bioorg Med Chem 2004; 12: 1867-1880. link

Harrison CB, O’Neil LL, Wiest O. Computational studies of DNA photolyase. J Phys Chem A 2005; 109: 7001-7012. link

Cells