People

Walther Professor in Cancer Structural Biology, Deputy Director of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research, Department Head of the Department of Biochemistry

Andy received his B.S. in Chemistry from Purdue University in 1988 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1995 from the University of Notre Dame. He pursued post-doctoral research at UC. Berkeley (1995-1999) under the direction of Prof. Daniel E. Koshland Jr. He joined the faculty in Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy at the University of Illinois-Chicago as an assistant professor in 1999 and was promoted to full Professor in 2008. In 2010, he was recruited to Purdue University as the Walther Professor of Structural Biology and Deputy Director of the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. He is interested in the structure and function of medically important enzymes involved in cancer, coronavirus infections and Alzheimer’s disease, and using structure-based approaches to design therapeutics against these enzymes.

Written by his students: Andy is known for bursting through our student-office doors any given afternoon to chat about data! He wants to know what you are working on, any interesting findings, and most importantly if you have crystals to send to APS (Advanced Photon Source for X-ray data collection). If there’s a time you are collecting X-ray data remotely, you can be rest assured Andy will be at the supercomputer next to you transferring files and helping process the data late into the night. Beyond the science, Andy loves to tell stories. He either has a story that is relatable to what you were just discussing or he has stories that completely get you off-track but will always makes you laugh. Andy is also known throughout Purdue for his annual Halloween Party. What many don’t know is the reason we do not have a costume contest is because he would probably win it every time (most recent costumes involved Dracula & Frankenstein). Andy’s other interests involve Notre Dame, Rock music, and his Shelby Cobra GT500 (convertible…of course).

Bridget is a third-year graduate student in Dr. Andrew Mesecar’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry. She is currently investigating the structural and biophysical characteristics of PLCG2 (phospholipase gamma 2) as an Alzheimer’s Disease target. Outside of science, Bridget loves relaxing with her cats, reading, and cooking new dishes.  

Kratika is a third-year graduate student in Dr. Andrew Mesecar’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry. She is currently working with Adam on investigation of structure-function of SHIP1 target in Alzheimer’s Disease. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, India, and her master’s in medical biotechnology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before joining graduate school at Purdue, she has worked as a proteomics scientist at Stanford University and Thermo Fisher Scientific. When not actively science-ing, she loves to read, go for a hike, or cook.