Isaiah Sumner

Isaiah Sumner is a Professor in Computational Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, James Madison University. He joined JMU in 2012 and focuses on combining molecular dynamics and quantum chemical methods to study protein structure, enzyme catalysis, and fundamental chemical concepts like bonding.

• Education: PhD in Chemical Physics (2010, Indiana University), BS in Chemistry (2004, Wabash College)

His research spans computational chemistry, quantum hydrodynamics, and protein dynamics. He has developed novel methods for analyzing electron trajectories and bonding properties, while also investigating catalytic mechanisms in enzymes like ubiquitin and histone acetyl transferases.

Key publication themes include ubiquitin conjugating enzymes, molecular dynamics simulations, anharmonic frequency calculations, and quantum mechanical modeling. His work bridges classical and quantum approaches to understand chemical and biochemical systems.