Johan Mattias Isaksson

Professor Johan Mattias Isaksson leads the UiT NMR Laboratory and manages the Norwegian NMR Platform (NNP) node and the SmallStruct analytical platform at the Department of Pharmacy, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. He teaches Medicinal Chemistry (FAR-2301), Advanced Pharmaceutical Chemistry (FAR-3301), and NMR Spectroscopy (KJE-3303/8303), integrating cutting-edge methods into his courses.

His research focuses on natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry, leveraging marine organisms (e.g., Arctic fungi, bacteria, sponges) to discover antibacterial and anticancer agents. His work combines NMR spectroscopy, metabolomics, and computational modeling to characterize compound structures and interactions with biomembranes.

Recent studies highlight his team's discovery of novel antibacterial sesterterpenes (2025), dUTPase inhibitors for cancer (2024), and σ-factor engineering approaches in Actinoplanes sp. (2024). He also develops membrane model systems to study multi-resistant bacteria via techniques like microscale thermophoresis and Vibrational Circular Dichroism.

Professor Isaksson collaborates with international researchers and contributes to projects like Lead-to-drug development of amphipathic scaffolds (LEADScAMR) and bacterial membrane mimetics. His publications span journals such as Journal of Natural Products, Marine Drugs, and Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, emphasizing marine biotechnology and antimicrobial resistance solutions.