Paul Baures

Degrees: BS Chemistry, Winona State University; MS Organic Chemistry, University of Minnesota; PhD Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota; Postdoctoral research in Bioorganic Chemistry, Texas A&M

Interests: Professional interests include drug discovery efforts with research on the structure and function of biomolecules as well as small molecules with bioactivity. My laboratory has synthesized biologically active small molecules that target biological pathways of importance against HIV, Hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and cancer. The group is also working on a coating to prevent the buildup of gas hydrates in pipelines.

Background: Over a decade of teaching and research at multiple institutions, including Kansas State University (five years), Bowdoin College (two years), and The University of Tulsa (six years). My teaching has included courses designed for non-scientists to upper-level graduate courses and has spanned the fields of organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and biochemistry. I also have three years of pharmaceutical research experience with SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline), and I worked with Signature BioScience, a biotechnology startup.

Awards: I received an Impact Award while at SmithKline Beecham and was awarded NIH pre- and postdoctoral fellowships and a Big XII faculty fellowship.

Representative Publications: Parallel synthesis of peptide-like macrocycles containing imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid. Xu, Z.; Wheeler, K. A.; Baures, P. W. Molecules 2012. 17:5346-5362.

Is ROR? a therapeutic target for treating Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections? Baures, P. W. Tuberculosis 2012. 92:95-99.

Parallel synthesis of an oligomeric imidazole-4,5-dicarboxamide library. Xu, Z.; DiCesare, J. C.; Baures, P. W. J. Comb. Chem. 2010. 12:248–254.

Imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid: A versatile scaffold for drug discovery and materials research. Baures, P. W. Trends in Heterocyclic Chemistry. 2006. 11:1–22.

Small molecule inhibition of Hepatitis C virus E2 binding to CD81. VanCompernolle, S.; Wiznycia, A. V.; Rush, J. R.; Dhanasekaran, M.; Baures, P. W.; Todd, S. C. Virology. 2003. 314:371–380.

Goals: My goal is to help the Chemistry Department equip students with the fundamentals necessary to succeed in their next career step, be it graduate school, a professional program such as medical school, or the workforce. The classes I lead hopefully excite the students and prepare them for lifelong learning, and I also do my best to train students to conduct high-quality research. Undergraduate researchers working in my laboratory learn to design and execute their own experiments, and to interpret their results.

Personal: Married to Lisa Thompson (a certified research administrator). We have a dog (Gracie) that is a shepherd mix, plus a cat (Sophie), and a flock of chickens. We enjoy hiking, gardening, or anything else outdoors.