Michael Ashley Spies

Michael Ashley Spies is a Professor of Drug Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Iowa's College of Pharmacy. His research focuses on protein-ligand interactions, enzymology, and computational chemistry applied to drug discovery. He leads the Ashley Spies Laboratory which develops novel computational methods (HPC docking, molecular dynamics) and validates findings through biochemical assays. Key areas include allosteric inhibition mechanisms, antimicrobial agents, and DNA repair proteins in cancer therapy.

Research highlights include pioneering work on caspase inhibitors featured in Angewandte Chemie as a 'hot paper' and ChemMedChem cover article. His group combines quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) simulations with experimental validation. Awards include JSPS Fellowship and recognition for impactful publications in JACS and eLife.

• Expertise: Computational drug design, enzyme kinetics, free energy calculations
• Techniques: High-performance computing, steered molecular dynamics, QM/MM simulations
• Clinical focus: Antimicrobial development, cancer therapeutics targeting DNA repair pathways

Recent work explores small-molecule effectors for DNA repair proteins (Burger's Medicinal Chemistry) and covalent inhibitors of bacterial enzymes. His lab actively collaborates across disciplines to translate computational insights into therapeutic leads.