Cameron F. Abrams

Cameron F. Abrams is the Bartlett-Barry Endowed Professor and Department Head of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Drexel University's College of Engineering. He earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University (1995) and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley (2000), followed by postdoctoral training at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Germany.

His research focuses on molecular simulations and method development, with applications spanning drug design (especially HIV-1 entry inhibitors), functional/high-performance materials, and biological thermodynamics. Key interests include:

• Development of free-energy methods for biomolecular systems
• Structure-based HIV-1 inhibitor design
• Molecular dynamics of thermosetting polymers
• Protein kinetics and membrane dynamics

Publications (2016-2022) demonstrate strong interdisciplinary focus, with 45% in materials science (thermosets, emulsions, epoxy networks), 30% in computational method development (free-energy landscapes, string methods), and 25% in biophysical applications (HIV inhibitors, ion channels, membrane fusion).

Awards include:

• Provost Award for Scholarly Productivity (2020)
• AIChE Computational Molecular Science Impact Award (2015)
• Fellow of AIMBE (2015)
• NSF CAREER (2006)
• ONR Young Investigator (2003-2006)

He leads the Molecular Simulations in Biology & Materials Group, advising PhD students (e.g., Jasmine Gardner, Steven Gossert) and postdoctoral researchers. Major grants include NIH funding for HIV-1 entry inhibitor design and NSF/ONR awards for simulation methodologies.