F. Javier Luque (1962) obtained his degree in Chemistry from the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona in 1985 and his PhD in Chemistry from the same university in 1989. His scientific career involved post-doctoral periods at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (1992), University of Pisa (1995) and University of Nancy (1998), where he was invited professor in 1999. In 1991 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Barcelona, and Full Professor  in 2003. In 2002 he was awarded the Catalan Distinction for the Promotion of University Research for Young Scientists, and the ICREA Academia award in 2012. He is recipient of the Federico Leloir award in 2015 by the Argentinian Ministery of Science. He is leading the Computational Biology and Drug Design group in the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Barcelona. He is co-author of more than 350 scientific publications and has supervised 21 PhD theses.

Research interests

The main focus of his research is the study of biomolecular systems using the theoretical and computational methods of quantum chemistry, classical simulations and molecular modeling. Special emphasis is made on the structure-dynamics-function relationships in proteins, the molecular determinants of biomolecular association and the design of novel bioactive compounds, specifically in drug discovery. My research comprises the development of novel methodologies for the study of molecular recognition, as well as the development of bioactive molecules for therapeutical applications. Most of the research in this field has targeted the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer), and more recently I have also started drug discovery studies of targets relevant in infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, influenza and malaria.

Keywords

Molecular simulation, computational biology, physical chemistry, bioinformatics, drug design