B.E. Chemical Engineering, 2000, The Cooper Union, New York, NY Ph.D. Biophysical Chemistry, 2005, Yale University NIH-NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, 2005-09, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Bioorganic Biophysical & Chemical Biology

Bioorganic, Biophysical, & Chemical Biology. Peptides and their mimetics can target protein surfaces in ways small molecules rarely do, making peptide libraries attractive for screening for nontraditional modes of action. The Kritzer research group takes advantage of peptide and peptidomimetic libraries to bypass many of the disadvantages of small molecule screening. They also explore how modifications such as substitution of peptide bonds with isosteres, amide N-methylation, and head-to-tail cyclization affect the activities, specificities, and bioavailabilities of functional peptides. By combining powerful techniques from organic synthesis, biophysical chemistry, molecular biology and genetics, they are developing new molecules and new strategies to attack cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases.

"Peptide Bicycles that Inhibit the Grb2 SH2 Domain". J. S. Quartararo, P. Wu and J. A. Kritzer, ChemBioChem, 2012, 6, 868-870. "Compounds from an unbiased chemical screen reverse both ER-to-Golgi trafficking defects and mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson disease models”, L. J. Su, P. K. Auluck, T. F. Outeiro, E. Yeger-Lotem, J. A. Kritzer, D. F. Tardiff, K. E. Strathearn, F. Liu, S. Cao, S. Hamamichi, K. J. Hill, K. A. Caldwell, G. W. Bell, E. Fraenkel, A. A. Cooper, G. A. Caldwell, J. M. McCaffery, J. C. Rochet, and S. Lindquist. Dis. Model. Mech., 2010, 3, 194-208. “Beyond discovery: Probes that grab, see and poke”, J. A. Kritzer, Nat. Chem. Biol., 2010, 6, 868-870. (Perspective) “Stapled peptides: Magic bullets in nature's arsenal”, J. A. Kritzer, Nat. Chem. Biol., 2010, 6, 566-567. (News and Views) "Rapid selection of cyclic peptides that reduce alpha-synuclein toxicity in yeast and animal models", J. A. Kritzer, S. Hamamich2, J. M. McCaffery, S. Santagata, T. A. Naumann, K. A. Caldwell, G. A. Caldwell, and S. Lindquist, Nat. Chem. Biol., 2009, 5, 655-663. "Encodable Activators of Src Family Kinases", C. D. Zellefrow, J. S. Griffiths, S. Saha, A. M. Hodges, J. L. Goodman, J. Paulk, J. A. Kritzer, A. J. Schepartz, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 16506–07. "Miniature protein inhibitors of the p53-hDM2 interaction", J. A. Kritzer, R. Zutshi, M. Cheah, F. Ann Ran, R. Webman, T. M. Wongjirad, and A. Schepartz, ChemBioChem, 2006, 7, 29-31. "A Rapid Library Screen for Tailoring β-Peptide Structure and Function", J. A. Kritzer, N. W. Luedtke, E. A. Harker, and A. Schepartz, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 14584–14585.

"Solution Structure of a β-Peptide Ligand for hDM2", J. A. Kritzer, M. E. Hodsdon, and A. Schepartz, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 4118–4119.