Andres M. Escorcia

Dr. Andres M. Escorcia is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, leading the Molecular Simulations and Design (MSD) group. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS), Colombia, and has held academic positions including Assistant Professor at Universidad Icesi (2021–2023). His research focuses on enzyme reaction mechanisms using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods, targeting enzymes such as deubiquitinases, hydrogenases, terpene synthases, and lytic polysaccharide oxygenases. He collaborates extensively with interdisciplinary teams and co-supervises PhD students.

Previous postdoctoral positions include work at the University of Bristol (UK), Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik komplexer technischer Systeme (Germany), and Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (Germany). His educational background includes a BSc in Chemistry (UIS, 2008) and a PhD (UIS, 2015), advised by Professors Markus Doerr and Martha Daza.

His research interests span computational enzymology, reaction mechanism elucidation, and enzyme engineering. He has published extensively in top journals like Inorg. Chem., J. Chem. Inf. Model., and ACS Catal.. His work bridges theoretical modeling and experimental validation, with contributions to understanding catalytic pathways in biocatalysts and protein-ligand interactions. Recent projects include studies on Cezanne-2 deubiquitinase and taxadiene synthase mechanisms.

Dr. Escorcia is affiliated with the MSD group, contributing to both computational infrastructure and experimental collaborations. His contributions to enzyme modeling and reaction design have advanced understanding of enzymatic selectivity and catalytic efficiency.