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Alex MacKerell

@alexmackerell.bsky.social

Computational chemistry and biophysics. Empirical force fields, CADD, RNA, carbohydrates, and methods developments including SILCS (site identification by ligand competitive saturation, See SilcsBio LLC) and enhanced-sampling GCMC. And I surf....

662 Followers  |  85 Following  |  28 Posts  |  Joined: 26.11.2023
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Posts by Alex MacKerell (@alexmackerell.bsky.social)

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A theoretical framework for random acceleration molecular dynamics simulations The dissociation of a ligand bound to a receptor is a rare event occurring on a timescale that is far longer than can be afforded by standard simulation methodo

We developed a simple theory and showed that Random Acceleration Molecular Dynamics (RAMD) is consistent with a Smoluchowski equation with an effective temperature and diffusion coefficient that depend quadratically on the magnitude of the random force.
pubs.aip.org/aip/jcp/arti...

10.02.2026 21:10 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Congratulations Roland!

13.01.2026 17:43 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

scientists: be honest, how often do you take a day off for the beach and call it pier review

19.12.2025 04:25 β€” πŸ‘ 52    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 5
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Technical Manager (NMR) | King's College London

Hey #chemsky - NMR people! At King's we're hiring an NMR technical manager! Come join a lovely department and get to work with some fantastic chemists!

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/134186-...

18.12.2025 12:59 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Download our large database of postdoc fellowships in all fields of research.

Database freely available to all; 281 fellowships.

Download here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

13.12.2025 13:38 β€” πŸ‘ 86    πŸ” 68    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

I can remember seeing Dick Allen at Connie Mack Stadium in Philly swing at a pitch over his head and drive into the outfield for a nice hit. He was incredible.

09.12.2025 00:21 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
picture of a TV screen hanging in a hallway, the TV screen shows slide which reads "Herzlich willkommen im Chemischen Laboratorium, Inaugural Lecture (GDCH), Fiona Kearns University of Freiburg 'Emerging opportunities in Biophysics: Glycoprotein Characterization by Simulation'" with a picture of a woman, The slide also indicates the date (Dec 15, 2025), time (5:15) and location (Horsaal Chemie) for the lecture

picture of a TV screen hanging in a hallway, the TV screen shows slide which reads "Herzlich willkommen im Chemischen Laboratorium, Inaugural Lecture (GDCH), Fiona Kearns University of Freiburg 'Emerging opportunities in Biophysics: Glycoprotein Characterization by Simulation'" with a picture of a woman, The slide also indicates the date (Dec 15, 2025), time (5:15) and location (Horsaal Chemie) for the lecture

Are you from @uni-freiburg.de? wanna come see me talk about my research on Dec 15 at 5:15 in the main Chemie Horsaal?

01.12.2025 14:12 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Nope, we ain’t. It was a really enjoyable day. Thank you.

06.11.2025 05:07 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Excited to share a new update to the Drude polarizable force field - phosphorylated amino acids! A long-term project that took quite a bit of effort. Great work with PhD student Laura Gil Pineda, former undergrad Candace Miller, and @alexmackerell.bsky.social

authors.elsevier.com/a/1m2md1SPTB...

06.11.2025 13:27 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

We enjoyed your visit to Univ Maryland Baltimore and great to spend time with a colleague with whom I shared an office 35 years ago! Ain't dead yet...

06.11.2025 03:04 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

And certainly don't ask generative AI to create a Z-matrix for your molecule. The outcomes are not pretty!

16.10.2025 21:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Faculty Recruitment

Please apply to our tenure-track faculty position at
@stanford-chemh.bsky.social! We are searching for a new colleague working at the interface between computation and molecular sciences. See post below and pls forward widely!
chemh.stanford.edu/opportunitie...

17.09.2025 17:54 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 25    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2

We've been putting these tools to use. Worth checking out.

17.09.2025 02:48 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Welcome!

15.07.2025 21:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Journal of Computational Chemistry Click on the title to browse this journal

Honored to join the Editorial Board of the Journal of Computational Chemistry #compchem #compchemsky #chemsky onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1096...

07.07.2025 08:02 β€” πŸ‘ 24    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

Take a look. The perspective includes examples of how MD simulations and the SILCS technology can be used to facilitate antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development including regions of the mAb that have potential interactions with the drug warhead.

29.06.2025 19:46 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

VΓ€ldigt bra! I hope all is well!

20.05.2025 00:13 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Representative images on a journal cover of the different types of molecular movement pathways.

Representative images on a journal cover of the different types of molecular movement pathways.

Nice to get a JCIM cover! Check out the SILCS-based method for dissociation pathway identification, 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c01814, and the SILCS-Kinetics physics/ML method for rapid estimation (really fast...) of small molecule koff values was just accepted in JCTC.
@silcsbio

15.04.2025 20:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

While I've seen a bad FF or two, the system volume could be so far off that the water can't condense properly.

31.03.2025 21:05 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I have heard from a reliable source that the NIGMS council is rescheduled for sometime In April even though it isn’t posted yet. Not sure about other councils

14.03.2025 20:05 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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We are excited to have @alexmackerell.bsky.social this month for our Integrative Modeling in Biophysics e-series!! It’s all about polarizable force field next week. #drude

Tues March 11, 5:30 PM IST (2:00 CEST, 7:00 AM USET) For details about this series, visit: sites.google.com/view/mbu-inf...

08.03.2025 10:04 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Increasing the Accuracy and Robustness of the CHARMM General Force Field with an Expanded Training Set Small molecule empirical force fields (FFs), including the CHARMM General Force Field (CGenFF), are designed to have wide coverage of organic molecules and to rapidly assign parameters to molecules no...

For all the CGenFF fans out there, we've undertaken a significant expansion of the training set and extended the coverage to 4-membered rings.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Access CGenFF at cgenff.com

04.03.2025 20:11 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

What they are doing is known to the art. Though the method may be more successful than previous attempts, people have been trying this for a long time with and range of methods and varying levels of success. Harold Scheraga would tell you all about it if he was still around!

03.03.2025 21:30 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Get to a physical therapist. I've had good outcomes and I continue to do regular exercises focused on my many issues. Getting old....

18.02.2025 00:36 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Postdoc position in computational structural biology Join our team and contribute to the development of HADDOCK, our integrative modelling software, as part of an exciting EU-India research collaboration.

I have two open postdoctoral researcher positions in my group. I am looking for applicants with interest and expertise in computational structural biology and research software development. These positions are part of GANANA, a collaborative European/Indian project Check www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

14.02.2025 18:01 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 20    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ€“Our new article investigates how refined parameters for the Drude polarizable force field perform in capturing complex biomolecular interactions with ions. Congratulations to the team! πŸ‘ #iamcals #hokies #utprosim #virginiatech #whyvt pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

11.02.2025 21:52 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

It's like they were just faking support for our communities all along.

11.02.2025 05:11 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
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Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

Check out the SILCS v2025 Release Webinar

Key Highlights being covered:
- Precise docking w/ water inclusion
- Improved ML-based hotspot ranking
- Streamlined multi-cofactor simulations

πŸ“… Feb 13, 2025, 12 PM ET
Register: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/214c66...

10.02.2025 20:28 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Sounds like the decision making process we use during force field optimization....

06.02.2025 23:15 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Queer Voices in Computational Biology: The 1st ISCB LGBTQI+ Symposium Abstract. The 1st ISCB LGBTQI+ Symposium, held during Pride month in 2024, marked a significant milestone by the International Society for Computational Bi

The article on the 1st Int'l Society for Computational Biology LGBTQI+ Symposium is out. Many thanks to @gonzaparra.bsky.social for organizing & putting the article together & to @iscb.bsky.social for sponsoring & hosting the online symposium. We won't give in to the hate. tinyurl.com/2v7mn6j5

06.02.2025 20:34 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0