a portrait of julien michel
Julien Michel
Department of Chemistry
225 Prospect Street
Yale University
New Haven, CT 06520-8107
USA
mail@julienmichel.net
Born November 1980, France

Summary:

An autonomous computational scientist with a diverse background in physical sciences, strong abilities in computational methods and excellent organisational skills, working at the boundaries of chemical theory and its applications to advance progress in the life sciences.

Awards

Current Position

Research Fellow, Department of Chemistry, Yale University, United States of America

September 2007 - Present

Develop and use novel computer simulation techniques grounded in statistical mechanics and quantum chemistry to investigate proteins of biomedical relevance and assist the design of novel therapeutic agents. This research is funded by the National Foundation for Cancer Research and a Marie Curie fellowship from the European Commission.

Past positions

Research Associate, School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

June 2006 - June 2007

Developed novel computer simulation methodologies to calculate protein-ligand binding free energies. Investigated pharmaceutically relevant protein-ligand systems to elucidate the causes of binding. Designed coarse grained models of biomolecules to perform large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of lipid mixtures and membrane proteins. Mentored junior graduate students. Senior system administrator of circa 20 PCs workstations and 70 compute nodes. Wrote Python scripts to administer, maintain and upgrade the system. Purchased equipment, installed software for end users.

PhD candidate,School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

October 2002 - April 2006

Conducted research in the application of statistical thermodynamics to the study of biomolecular systems. Developed a generalised Born model of water for proteins and organic molecules. In collaboration with Astex Therapeutics, performed free energy calculations on small organic molecules and protein-ligand complexes to determine solvation and binding free energies. Devised novel Monte Carlo moves to increase the efficiency of these simulations. Contributed significantly to the development of ProtoMS2, a large scale fortran77 open source program designed to perform Monte Carlo free energy simulations of chemical systems. Taught practicals in the physical chemistry laboratory for undergraduates. Provided feedback on quality of work and graded reports.

Graduate student, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France

March 2002 - September 2002

Biophysical study of proteins involved in the cell cycle. Studied peptide-protein interactions using solid phase synthesis and NMR titration methodologies. Predicted binding energies and constructed homology models using molecular modeling techniques.

Graduate student, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France

July 2001 - August 2001

Synthesis of novel anti-malaria drugs using traditional organic synthesis methodology. Studied conformational properties of clinical compounds with molecular modeling tools.

Undergraduate student, Takasago inc., Hiratsuka, Japan.

July 2000 - August 2000

Asymmetric hydrogenation of imines using homogeneous catalysis methodology. Measured enantiomeric excess and turnover for several iridium catalysts.

Education

Skills