Dennis A. Dougherty

Dougherty received his B.S. and M.S. in 1974 from Bucknell University. Subsequently, he earned his Ph.D. in 1978 under the supervision of Kurt Mislow at Princeton University and was a post-doctoral scholar in Jerome Berson's lab at Yale University in 1979.

In 1979 Dougherty became a member of the Caltech faculty, earning tenure in 1985. He pioneered the investigation of the role of cation–π interactions in protein structure, molecular recognition and enzyme catalysis.{{cite journal|last=Dougherty|first=D. A.|author2=J.C. Ma|title=The Cation–π Interaction|journal=Chemical Reviews|year=1997|volume=97|issue=5|pages=1303–1324|doi=10.1021/cr9603744|pmid=11851453}} He is the scientific co-founder of Neurion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In 2005 he published a textbook entitled Modern Physical Organic Chemistry with co-author Eric V. Anslyn.

Dougherty is the recipient of multiple teaching awards including the Richard Badger Teaching Award (1992), the ASCIT Excellence in Teaching Award (1987 and 2000), and the Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2010).{{cite web|url=http://www.caltech.edu/today|title=Caltech Today - Caltech|website=The California Institute of Technology|accessdate=10 August 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://provost.caltech.edu/FeynmanTeachingPrize/|title=Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching - Caltech Office of the Provost|website=Provost.caltech.edu|accessdate=10 August 2017}} In 2009, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.{{cite web|url=http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=04282009|title=72 New Members Chosen By Academy|website=8.nationa.lacademies.org|accessdate=10 August 2017}}

• {{Cite journal | first1 = P.

| last2 = Lester

| last1 = Hanek | first2 = A. | first3 = A.

| title = A stereochemical test of a proposed structural feature of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

| last3 = Dougherty

| journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society

| volume = 130

| issue = 40

| pages = 13216–13218

| date=Oct 2008 | issn = 0002-7863

| pmid = 18781739

| doi = 10.1021/ja8015457

| bibcode = 2008JAChS.13013216H

| url = https://authors.library.caltech.edu/12139/2/ja8015457-File002.pdf

}}

• {{Cite journal| first1 = A.

| title = Cys-loop neuroreceptors: structure to the rescue?

| journal = Chemical Reviews

| volume = 108

| issue = 5

| pages = 1642–1653

| date=May 2008 | issn = 0009-2665

| pmid = 18447378

| last1 = Dougherty

| doi = 10.1021/cr078207z

}}

• {{Cite journal| first1 = A.

| title = Physical organic chemistry on the brain

| journal = The Journal of Organic Chemistry

| volume = 73

| issue = 10

| pages = 3667–3673

| date=May 2008 | issn = 0022-3263

| pmid = 18412391

| last1 = Dougherty

| doi = 10.1021/jo8001722

| s2cid = 3206029

| url = https://authors.library.caltech.edu/88718/1/%5BPure%20and%20Applied%20Chemistry%5D%20Physical%20organic%20chemistry%20in%20the%20brain.pdf

}}

• {{Cite journal

| last2 = Lester | first1 = J.

| last3 = Dougherty

| last1 = Wang | first2 = A.

| first3 = A.

| title = Establishing an ion pair interaction in the homomeric rho1 gamma-aminobutyric acid type a receptor that contributes to the gating pathway

| journal = The Journal of Biological Chemistry

| volume = 282

| issue = 36

| pages = 26210–26216

| date=Sep 2007 | issn = 0021-9258

| pmid = 17606618

| doi = 10.1074/jbc.M702314200

| doi-access = free

}}

• {{Cite journal

| last2 = Lester | first1 = A.

| last3 = Dougherty

| last1 = Rodriguez | first2 = A. | first3 = A.

| title = In vivo incorporation of multiple unnatural amino acids through nonsense and frameshift suppression

| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

| volume = 103

| issue = 23

| pages = 8650–8655

| date=Jun 2006 | issn = 0027-8424

| pmid = 16728509

| pmc = 1482635

| doi = 10.1073/pnas.0510817103

|bibcode = 2006PNAS..103.8650R | doi-access = free

}}

• {{Cite journal| first1 = C.

| last5 = Broadhurst | first2 = L. | first3 = W.

| last2 = Beene

| last3 = Lee

| last6 = Dougherty

| last4 = Lester | first4 = A. | first5 = W. | first6 = A.

| title = Cis-trans isomerization at a proline opens the pore of a neurotransmitter-gated ion channel

| journal = Nature

| volume = 438

| issue = 7065

| pages = 248–252

| date=Nov 2005 | issn = 0028-0836

| pmid = 16281040

| last1 = Lummis

| doi = 10.1038/nature04130

|bibcode = 2005Natur.438..248L | s2cid = 4410775 | url = https://authors.library.caltech.edu/55917/2/nature04130-s1.pdf }}

• {{Cite journal | first1 = X. | first2 = P.

| last2 = Hanek

| last3 = Wang| first3 = J. | first4 = A.

| last4 = Lester | first5 = A.

| title = A unified view of the role of electrostatic interactions in modulating the gating of Cys loop receptors

| journal = The Journal of Biological Chemistry

| volume = 280

| last5 = Dougherty

| issue = 50

| pages = 41655–41666

| date=Dec 2005 | issn = 0021-9258

| pmid = 16216879

| last1 = Xiu

| doi = 10.1074/jbc.M508635200

| doi-access = free

}}

• {{Cite journal| first1 = S. | first2 = I.

| last3 = Petersson

| last2 = Dibas

| last4 = Auyeung | first3 = J.

| last6 = Bezanilla | first4 = C. | first5 = B. | first6 = F.

| last8 = Lester

| last5 = Chanda | first7 = A. | first8 = A.

| title = A fluorophore attached to nicotinic acetylcholine receptor βM2 detects productive binding of agonist to the αδ site

| last7 = Dougherty

| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

| volume = 101

| issue = 27

| pages = 10195–10200

| date=Jul 2004 | issn = 0027-8424

| pmid = 15218096

| pmc = 454187

| last1 = Dahan

| doi = 10.1073/pnas.0301885101

|bibcode = 2004PNAS..10110195D | doi-access = free

}}

• {{Cite journal

| pmid = 12850209

| last1 = Beene

| date=Jun 2003 | first1 = D. D.

| last2 = Dougherty | first2 = D. A.

| last3 = Lester | first3 = H. A.

| title = Unnatural amino acid mutagenesis in mapping ion channel function

| volume = 13

| issue = 3

| pages = 264–270

| issn = 0959-4388

| journal = Current Opinion in Neurobiology

| doi = 10.1016/S0959-4388(03)00068-0

| s2cid = 12413271

}}

• {{Cite journal

| volume = 41

| title = Cation-pi interactions in ligand recognition by serotonergic (5-HT3A) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: the anomalous binding properties of nicotine

| pages = 10262–10269 | first1 = D. B.

| date =Aug 2002

| last1 = Beene

| issn = 0006-2960

| issue = 32

| journal = Biochemistry

| doi = 10.1021/bi020266d

| pmid = 12162741

| last2 = Brandt | first2 = G. S.

| last3 = Zhong | first3 = W.

| last4 = Zacharias | first4 = N. M.

| last5 = Lester | first5 = H. A.

| last6 = Dougherty | first6 = D. A.

}}

• {{Cite journal

| pmid = 9770444

| date=Oct 1998 | last1 = Zhong | first1 = W.

| last2 = Gallivan | first2 = J. P.

| last3 = Zhang | first3 = Y.

| last4 = Li | first4 = L.

| last5 = Lester | first5 = H. A.

| last6 = Dougherty | first6 = D. A.

| title = From ab initio quantum mechanics to molecular neurobiology: A cation–π binding site in the nicotinic receptor

| volume = 95

| issue = 21

| pages = 12088–12093

| issn = 0027-8424

| pmc = 22789

| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

| doi = 10.1073/pnas.95.21.12088

|bibcode = 1998PNAS...9512088Z | doi-access=free }}

• {{Cite journal

| pmid = 11851453

| date=Aug 1997 | first2 = D. A.

| title = The Cationminus signpi Interaction

| volume = 97

| issue = 5

| pages = 1303–1324

| issn = 0009-2665

| journal = Chemical Reviews

| doi = 10.1021/cr9603744

| last1=Ma | first1=J. C. | last2=Dougherty }}

• {{Cite journal

| pmid = 8982168

| date=Dec 1996 | first2 = H. | last3=Zhong | first3 = W. | last4=Dougherty | first4 = D. A. | last5=Lester | first5 = H. A.

| title = Determinants of nicotinic receptor gating in natural and unnatural side chain structures at the M2 9' position

| volume = 17

| issue = 6

| pages = 1221–1229

| issn = 0896-6273

| journal = Neuron

| doi = 10.1016/S0896-6273(00)80252-4

| last1=Kearney | first1=P. C. | last2=Zhang | doi-access = free }}

• {{Cite journal

| pmid = 8913372

| date=Nov 1996

| last1 = Kearney | first1 = P. N. | first2 = M. W. | last3=Zhong

| first3 = W. | last4=Silverman

| first4 = S. K. | last5=Lester

| first5 = H. A. | last6=Dougherty

| first6 = D. A.

| title = Dose-response relations for unnatural amino acids at the agonist binding site of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: tests with novel side chains and with several agonists

| volume = 50

| issue = 5

| pages = 1401–1412

| issn = 0026-895X

| journal = Molecular Pharmacology

| last2=Nowak

| doi=10.1016/S0026-895X(25)09576-8

}}

• {{Cite journal

| pmid = 2274786

| date=Dec 1990 | last1 = Dougherty | first1 = D. A.

| last2 = Stauffer | first2 = D. A.

| title = Acetylcholine binding by a synthetic receptor: implications for biological recognition

| volume = 250

| issue = 4987

| pages = 1558–1560

| issn = 0036-8075

| journal = Science

| doi = 10.1126/science.2274786

|bibcode = 1990Sci...250.1558D | s2cid=20210121 }}

• Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar (1984–1989)
• AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award (1991)
• Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1992)
• Javits Neuroscience Investigator, NIH (2004)
• ACS James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry (2008)
• Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2010)
• Arthur C. Cope Award (2020)

• Phi Beta Kappa
• American Chemical Society
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Biophysical Society
• Society for Neuroscience
• National Academy of Sciences (2009)
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1994)
• Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1999)

He currently lives in South Pasadena with his wife Dr. Ellen Dougherty, the superintendent of the Lawndale Elementary School District.{{cite web|title=Lawndale Elementary School District|url=http://www.lawndale.k12.ca.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=55706&type=d&rn=8044283|url-status=dead|accessdate=2010-06-19|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831052737/http://www.lawndale.k12.ca.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=55706&type=d&rn=8044283|archivedate=2009-08-31}}

• [http://www.neurionpharma.com/ Neurion]
• [http://www.its.caltech.edu/~dadgrp/ Dougherty Lab Website]
• [http://www.its.caltech.edu/~dadgrp/people/ Dennis A. Dougherty lab page]
• [http://www.cce.caltech.edu/content/chemistry-caltech Caltech Chemistry]

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Category:21st-century American chemists

Category:1952 births

Category:People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Category:Living people

Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences