Jacques Kessl

Dr. Jacques Kessl is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Southern Mississippi. His expertise spans Biochemistry, Virology, Drug Discovery, and Cell and Molecular Biology. He joined the university in 2016 after serving as an assistant research professor at Ohio State University and conducting postdoctoral work at Dartmouth College on drug resistance in Plasmodium and HIV integrase mechanisms.

Education: PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Provence (1998). He has secured NIH grants and focuses on antiviral drug development, particularly targeting HIV integrase. Courses taught include Principles of Biochemistry (CHE 420/520) and Current Topics in Biochemistry (CHE 729).

Research interests emphasize HIV integrase mechanisms, viral RNA interactions, and multimerization inhibition. His publications explore novel inhibitors and viral morphogenesis pathways. He is fluent in French and English and is affiliated with the Johnson Science Tower laboratory facilities.