Robert Jernigan

Robert Jernigan is a Professor of Bioinformatics, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology at Iowa State University. He holds a courtesy professorship in the Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. His primary research focuses on computational approaches to understand protein dynamics, structure-function relationships, and functional annotation through bioinformatics methods. He has contributed extensively to machine learning tools for protein stability prediction, homology detection, and mutation impact analysis.

Key research interests include:

• Protein dynamics modeling using elastic network models and molecular dynamics
• Allostery prediction and functional site identification
• Machine learning applications in bioinformatics
• Protein structure prediction and validation (e.g., AlphaFold2 analysis)
• Genome annotation and synthetic biology (e.g., JCVI-Syn3a studies)

Recent work highlights include developing methods for predicting deleterious mutations, improving homolog detection via sequence correlations, and analyzing protein fluctuations in membrane transporters. His lab collaborates on projects related to exosomal RNA in bovine milk and non-coding RNA functions.

Notable collaborations involve the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program at Iowa State University, leveraging interdisciplinary approaches to address challenges in structural biology and systems biology. He has published widely in journals like Proteins, J. Phys. Chem. B, and PNAS.