Mahmoud Nasr
Mahmoud Nasr receives an award in the 14th Annual Symposium on advances in separation science and mass spectrometry.
Mahmoud Nasr, a doctoral candidate in Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, received the first place award in the 14th Annual MASSEP/GBMSDG Joint symposium on advances in separation sciences and mass spectrometry poster session.
Mahmoud is working in the laboratory of Distinguished Professor Alexandros Makriyannis, Center for Drug Discovery (CDD).
Mahmoud is studying the interaction and inactivation mechanisms of MGL (monoacylglycerol lipase), an endocannabinoid enzyme and a potential therapeutic target for cancer, by different classes of enzyme inhibitors. To mimic the lipid environment in which the enzyme produces its effect, he has been using phospholipid biolayer nanodiscs into which the enzyme is incorporated.
The project includes collaborations with professor John Engen and professor Lee Makowski, to study the effects of the membrane and different enzyme inhibitors on the conformation and dynamics of MGL incorporated into nanodiscs using hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry (HX MS), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques. The enzyme-nanodisc systems are used to design novel MGL inhibitors with improved pharmacological profiles.