Contact Information

Education

  • Wiess Instructor of Chemistry, Rice University, 2004–07
  • Post-Doctoral Researcher, Johns Hopkins University, 2003–04
  • Ph.D., Medicinal Chemistry, The Ohio State University, 2003
  • B.S., Pharmacy, Duquesne University, 1997

Research Interests or Expertise

In the areas of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, the Lapinsky research group primarily focuses on the rational design and synthesis of clickable covalent compounds. These are valuable compounds that can be used for:

  • Target identification of hit compounds originating from phenotypic screening campaigns
  • Mechanism of action studies, confirmation of target engagement, or selectivity profiling (also known as Affinity-Based Protein Profiling (AfBPP))
  • Characterizing the interactions of small-molecules with drug targets
  • Determining binding sites within target proteins

School

  • Hunkele Dreaded Disease Research Award
    “Tackling Human Disease Via a Universal Chemical Biology Toolbox”
    $5,648
    1/3/25 – 1/2/27

  • Samuel and Emma Winters Foundation
    “Changing the Predominant Status Quo of How to Make Covalent Drug Candidates”
    $4,500
    1/8/25 – 8/31/25

  • Duquesne University Faculty Development Fund
    “A Chemical Approach to Discover New Drug Targets and Mechanisms to Treat Cancer”
    $6,000
    5/1/23 – 4/30/25

  • Hunkele Dreaded Disease Research Award
    “Target Identification of an Exercise-Induced Appetite Suppressant”
    $11,342
    1/4/23 – 1/3/25

  • Loogman Faculty Research Grant from The Center for African Studies at Duquesne University
    “Accelerating Childhood African Cryptosporidiosis Drug Discovery and Development”
    $4,500
    5/1/22 – 8/31/23
  • Structural Studies of the Human α1 Glycine Receptor via Site-Specific Chemical Crosslinking Coupled with Mass Spectrometry
    Veeramachaneni, Rathna J.; Donelan, Chelsee A.; Tomcho, Kayce A.; Aggarwal, Shaili; Lapinsky, David J.; Cascio, Michael
    Biophysical Reports (2024), 4(4), 100184
  • Appendage- and Scaffold-Diverse Electrophilic and Photoreactive Probes for Integrated Phenotypic Screening-Target Identification Campaigns Via a Minimalist Bifunctional Isocyanide
    Jackson, Paul A.; Kisty, Eleni; Pradhan, Vandan; Swank, Christopher; Bohrer, Luke; Nolan, Tammy L.; Weerapana, Eranthie; Lapinsky, David J.
    ACS Omega (2024), 9(41), 42557-42570
  • Differential Contribution of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Common Allosteric Binding Site Residues to Biased Allosteric Agonism
    Sengmany, Kathy; Hellyer, Shane D.; Christopoulos, Arthur; Lapinsky, David J.; Leach, Katie; Gregory, Karen J.
    Biochemical Pharmacology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (2020), 177, 114011
  • Development of Clickable Photoaffinity Ligands for Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 2 Based on Two Positive Allosteric Modulator Chemotypes
    Hellyer, Shane D.; Aggarwal, Shaili; Chen, Amy N. Y.; Leach, Katie; Lapinsky, David J.; Gregory, Karen J.
    ACS Chemical Neuroscience (2020), 11(11), 1597-1609
  • Appendage and Scaffold Diverse Fully Functionalized Small-Molecule Probes via a Minimalist Terminal Alkyne-Aliphatic Diazirine Isocyanide
    Jackson, Paul; Lapinsky, David J.
    Journal of Organic Chemistry (2018), 83(18), 11245-11253
  • PHBM 352 – Foundations of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology
  • PHBM 432 – Cardiovascular Module
  • PHBM 435 – Pain Module
  • PHBM 436 – Respiratory, Dermatology, and Ophthalmic Disorders Module
  • PHBM 437 – Endocrine Module
  • PHBM 441 – Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation Module
  • GPSC 516 – Synthetic Organic Medicinal Chemistry I
  • GPSC 517 – Synthetic Organic Medicinal Chemistry II
  • GPSC 541 – Scientific Writing II