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Chemistry
USA
2026

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Chemistry

D-Index
136
Citations
64450
World Ranking
244
National Ranking
116

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
136
Citations
65422
World Ranking
339
National Ranking
228

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Chemistry in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Chemistry in United States Leader Award
  • 2017 - Murray Goodman Memorial Prize, American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • 2013 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 1999 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 1998 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1994 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Overview

William F. DeGrado is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, and Medicine. Within these domains, their work notably focuses on Molecular Biology, Materials Chemistry, Neurology, Physiology, and Organic Chemistry.

The main topics addressed in DeGrado's research include:

  • Protein Structure and Dynamics
  • RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
  • Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
  • Enzyme Structure and Function
  • Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior
  • Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research

Several recent publications exemplify the scope of their work, including:

  • De novo protein design, a retrospective (2020) in Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics
  • A defined structural unit enables de novo design of small-molecule-binding proteins (2020) in Science
  • Constructing ion channels from water-soluble α-helical barrels (2021) in Nature Chemistry
  • De novo metalloprotein design (2021) in Nature Reviews Chemistry
  • Deep mutational scanning reveals the structural basis for α-synuclein activity (2020) in Nature Chemical Biology

DeGrado has collaborated frequently with several coauthors, most notably:

  • Hyunil Jo
  • Sophia K. Tan
  • Nicholas F. Polizzi
  • Carlo Condello
  • Huong T. Kratochvil

Their research findings have been published extensively in venues including:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Biophysical Journal
  • Biochemistry

Throughout their career, William F. DeGrado has received several recognitions:

  • Murray Goodman Memorial Prize, American Chemical Society (ACS), 2017
  • Fellow, National Academy of Inventors, 2013
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences, 1999
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1998
  • Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 1994

Best Publications

  • beta-Peptides: from structure to function.

    Richard P. Cheng;Samuel H. Gellman;William F. DeGrado

  • A thermodynamic scale for the helix-forming tendencies of the commonly occurring amino acids

    Karyn T. O'Neil;William F. Degrado

  • How calmodulin binds its targets: sequence independent recognition of amphiphilic α-helices

    Karyn T. O'Neil;William F. DeGrado

  • Foldamers as versatile frameworks for the design and evolution of function

    Catherine M Goodman;Sungwook Choi;Sungwook Choi;Scott Shandler;William F DeGrado

  • Characterization of a helical protein designed from first principles

    Lynne Regan;William F. DeGrado

  • De Novo Design and Structural Characterization of Proteins and Metalloproteins

    William F. DeGrado;Christopher M. Summa;Vincenzo Pavone;Flavia Nastri

  • Synthetic amphiphilic peptide models for protein ion channels

    JD Lear;ZR Wasserman;WF DeGrado

  • Protein Design: A Hierarchic Approach

    James W. Bryson;Stephen F. Betz;Helen S. Lu;Daniel J. Suich

  • Structure of the amantadine binding site of influenza M2 proton channels in lipid bilayers

    Sarah D. Cady;Klaus Schmidt-Rohr;Jun Wang;Cinque S. Soto

  • Structural basis for the function and inhibition of an influenza virus proton channel

    Amanda L. Stouffer;Amanda L. Stouffer;Rudresh Acharya;David Salom;Anna S. Levine

  • Protein design, a minimalist approach

    William F. DeGrado;Zelda R. Wasserman;James D. Lear

  • Short peptides self-assemble to produce catalytic amyloids

    Caroline M. Rufo;Yurii S. Moroz;Olesia V. Moroz;Jan Stöhr

  • De Novo Design of Antimicrobial Polymers, Foldamers, and Small Molecules: From Discovery to Practical Applications

    Gregory N. Tew;Richard W. Scott;Michael L. Klein;William F. DeGrado

  • Design and synthesis of multi-haem proteins

    D E Robertson;R S Farid;C C Moser;J L Urbauer

  • De novo design of biomimetic antimicrobial polymers

    Gregory N. Tew;Dahui Liu;Bin Chen;Robert J. Doerksen

  • Amphiphilic polymethacrylate derivatives as antimicrobial agents.

    Kenichi Kuroda;William F. DeGrado

  • Folding of helical membrane proteins: the role of polar, GxxxG-like and proline motifs.

    Alessandro Senes;Donald E Engel;William F DeGrado

  • A functionally defined model for the M2 proton channel of influenza A virus suggests a mechanism for its ion selectivity.

    Lawrence H. Pinto;Gregg R. Dieckmann;Chris S. Gandhi;Carol G. Papworth

  • Induction of peptide conformation at apolar water interfaces. 1. A study with model peptides of defined hydrophobic periodicity

    W. F. DeGrado;J. D. Lear

  • De Novo Design of Antibacterial β-Peptides

    Yoshi Hamuro;and Joel P. Schneider;William F. DeGrado

Frequent Co-Authors

James D. Lear
James D. Lear University of Pennsylvania
Joel S. Bennett
Joel S. Bennett University of Pennsylvania
Feng Gai
Feng Gai University of Pennsylvania
Michael L. Klein
Michael L. Klein Temple University
Angela Lombardi
Angela Lombardi University of Naples Federico II
Robert A. Lamb
Robert A. Lamb Northwestern University
Lawrence H. Pinto
Lawrence H. Pinto Northwestern University
Gregory N. Tew
Gregory N. Tew University of Massachusetts Amherst
Vincenzo Pavone
Vincenzo Pavone University of Naples Federico II

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