Prof. Edward L. D'Antonio

Prof. Edward L. D'Antonio is a Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology at the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB). He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry at North Carolina State University in 2010 under the direction of Prof. Edmond F. Bowden, where his research areas of focus were in Biochemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry, and Redox Thermodynamics. From 2010 to 2013, he held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Prof. David W. Christianson, and he was trained in Structural Biology and Medicinal Chemistry.  Dr. D’Antonio started his teaching role and independent scientific career in 2013. The main goal of his research program functions to identify chemical compounds that inhibit protein targets of pathogenic microorganisms or viruses. Over the past decade, Dr. D’Antonio has been studying the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the etiological agent for Chagas’ disease. The drug discovery strategies that he utilizes include structure-based drug design, hit-to-lead expansions, structure–activity relationships, the development of enzymatic assays, and high-throughput screening. Compounds are further developed by experimentally searching for higher efficacy and lower toxicity than the clinically used therapeutics for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases.