Joseph Baker

Joseph Baker is a Professor of Chemistry at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), where he leads the Baker Computational Chemistry Lab within the School of Science. His research focuses on Computational Biochemistry, Molecular Dynamics Simulations, and Biophysics, with an emphasis on bacterial adhesion pili, protein structure-function relationships, and High Performance Computing (ELSA Cluster). He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Arizona in 2011.

• Research Interests: Computational modeling of biomolecular systems, protein mechanics, bacterial surface structures, AI-driven peptide design, and biomechanical stability.
• Recent Trends: His 2025–2024 publications highlight collaborations with students on histatin-5 interactions, SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies, and force-induced pilus dynamics using tools like ProteinMPNN and Martini coarse-grained simulations.

Scientific Recognition includes multiple MUSE Awards, the Barbara Meyers Pelson Award, and the American Chemical Society Outreach Volunteer of the Year Award. He mentors undergraduate and graduate students, including Giovanny Parada, and has secured over $2 million in grants from NSF, NASA, and NIH to study protein resilience and enhance computational infrastructure.