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AARON BOAKYE
SALT LAKE CITY,UT
Work Preference
Summary
Experienced biochemist and structural biologist specializing in protein expression, purification, and mechanism-of-action studies for therapeutic discovery. Skilled in cryo-EM, biochemical assay development, and computational modeling, including AlphaFold and molecular dynamics, to enhance construct design and data analysis. Demonstrated ability to drive cross-functional collaboration, supported by eight peer-reviewed publications in structural and medicinal chemistry.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
PhD Researcher
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
01.2024 - Current
- Designed and cloned insulin receptor ectodomain construct to probe activation and ligand binding mechanisms.
- Optimized mammalian and bacteria expression workflows to improve protein yields during production
- Prepared cryoEM grids and processed data in CryoSPARC to achieve high resolution reconstructions (~3 Å maps)
- Applied AlphaFold to prioritize construct variants and predict flexible regions, reducing experimental screening time.
- Built and refined atomic models in Coot/ISOLDE to evaluate conformational states and potential therapeutic binding pockets.
- Presented findings to collaborators and prepared manuscript for publication
Graduate Research Fellow
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
01.2023 - 01.2024
- Designed fusion constructs using AlphaFold2 + Protein MPNN to stabilize prefusion conformations.
- Expressed and purified designed constructs using affinity, ion-exchange, and SEC-MALS workflows; achieved >95% purity and >5 mg/mL concentrations for structural assays.
- Conducted negative-stain EM and crystallography trials to assess oligomeric state and conformational stability.
Research Assistant
NiCS Lab, KNUST
01.2021 - 01.2023
- Designed molecular docking and dynamics workflows across multiple targets that directly informed hit selection in published studies.
- Evaluated ligand stability and performed MM-PBSA/GBSA binding free-energy calculations to prioritize top-scoring hits for wet-lab synthesis and biological testing.
- Formulated structure-activity relationship (SAR) hypotheses that successfully guided compound optimization strategies.
- Mentored and supervised over 15 undergraduate researchers; co-authored multiple peer-reviewed papers on target-based drug discovery
Education
Doctor of Philosophy - Biochemistry
University of Utah School of Medicine
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States07-2026
Bachelor of Science - Chemistry
KNUST
Kumasi, Ghana09-2022
Skills
- CryoEM, sample preparation, structure determination and analysis
- Protein expression and purification using bacteria and mammalian systems
- Protein engineering and construct design
- Negative-stain EM
- Computational tools: AlphaFold, ProteinMPNN, Homology modeling, molecular dynamics, GROMACS, molecular docking, PyMOL, UCSF Chimera, ChimeraX, Coot, ISOLDE, Phenix, Cryosparc
- Team collaboration
- MS office
- Strong work ethic
Profile Link
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KhcpQzEAAAAJ&hl=en
Leadership And Mentorship
- Team Lead & RSO Officer, Science With You, 01/01/25, 01/01/27, Directed a 10-member team executing STEM programs for over 300 students.
- Research Mentor, RUUTE Program, 01/01/25, 01/01/25, Guided first-year medical students (MS1) through foundational experimental design, structural interpretation, and data presentation.
- Scientific Reviewer, Invited reviewer for multiple computational/medicinal chemistry journals; evaluated 32 poster and project proposals for ASBMB, Cell Bio, and UURP.
- Community Outreach, Active volunteer and presenter with BioHive, GSLC, and the Utah STEM Action Center.
Selected Publications
- Boakye, A., et al., Structural basis for insulin receptor activation by venom-inspired monomeric insulin, Nature Communications, 2026, Manuscript under preparation
- Boakye, A., et al., Computational studies on potential small-molecule inhibitors of Leishmania PTR1, Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics
- Boakye, A., et al., Marine-derived furanones targeting quorum-sensing receptors in P. aeruginosa, Bioinformatics and Biology Insights
- Boakye, A., et al., Inhibition of L. donovani OASS by cyclopropane derivatives: molecular dynamics and docking insights, Discover Chemistry
- Mensah, J. O., Boakye, A., et al.,Molecular basis of quorum-sensing inhibition from Dioon spinulosum, ChemistrySelect
- Mensah J.O., Boakye A., et al.,Molecular insights into the differential membrane targeting of maximin 1 in prokaryotic and eukaryotic Cells, Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics
Timeline
PhD Researcher
University of Utah
01.2024 - Current
Graduate Research Fellow
University of Utah
01.2023 - 01.2024
Research Assistant
NiCS Lab, KNUST
01.2021 - 01.2023
Bachelor of Science - Chemistry
KNUST
Doctor of Philosophy - Biochemistry
University of Utah School of Medicine