Jingzhi Pu

Jingzhi Pu serves as Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at Indiana University, conducting interdisciplinary research at the nexus of computational chemistry and biophysics. His work focuses on deciphering biomolecular motor mechanisms and developing advanced simulation methodologies for biological electron transfer processes.

His academic foundation includes:

• B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University (1999)
• Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota (2004)
• Postdoctoral research at University of Minnesota (2004-2005)
• Postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University (2005-2010)

Research centers on biomolecular dynamics and computational methodology development, with dual emphases on ABC transporter mechanisms (linked to cystic fibrosis and cancer drug resistance) and electron transfer in DNA photolyases. His lab pioneers multiscale approaches integrating coarse-grained modeling, QM/MM, and free energy calculations to bridge structural biology with functional dynamics.

Publication analysis reveals sustained expertise in enzyme catalysis (particularly hydride transfer in dihydrofolate reductase) and molecular motor mechanics (F1-ATPase, ABC transporters). His methodological innovations span polarizable force fields, tunneling corrections, and hybrid quantum-classical simulations, consistently addressing fundamental questions in biomolecular energetics and kinetics.

He directs the Pu Group laboratory, which employs computational frameworks to investigate conformational dynamics in membrane transporters and develop simulation tools for biological electron transfer systems. Current projects focus on chemomechanical coupling in ABC transporters and quantum mechanical aspects of DNA repair enzymes.