Professor Jack Tuszynski obtained his Ph.D. in condensed matter physics in 1983 from the University of Calgary. From 1983 to 1988 he was a faculty member at the Department of Physics of the Memorial University of Newfoundland. He moved to the University of Alberta in 1988 as an assistant professor, between 1990 to 1993 he was an associate and then full professor at the Department of Physics. As of 2005 he has held the prestigious Allard Chair in Experimental Oncology at the Cross Cancer Institute where he leads an interdisciplinary computational drug discovery group. He is also a Fellow of the National Institute for Nanotechnology of Canada.

Dr. Tuszynski held visiting professorship and research positions in China, Germany, France, Israel, Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed journal papers, and 12 books. He delivered almost 400 scientific talks at conferences on five continents, half of which were invited presentations. He submitted 15 reports of invention, 21 patent applications and obtained 4 patents in the USA, South Korea, Japan and Singapore. His research has been supported by over 90 research grants from Canadian, US and European funding agencies. He is on the editorial board of almost 30 international journals including the Journal of Biological Physics. He is an Associate Editor of The Frontiers Collection, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.

Research Interests
Rational drug design
Microtubule assembly and function
Models of motor protein function Integration of mathematical modelling into the pharmaceutical development process

The major thrust of the computational biophysics group is in silico drug design for cancer chemotherapy applications and in vitro testing. Dr. Tuszynski’s research interests are strongly linked to the protein tubulin and the microtubules assembled from it. These have been studied using methods ranging from simple stochastic models to detailed molecular dynamics computer simulations, as well as through laboratory manipulations of living cells. Due to its prominent role played in eukaryotic cell division, tubulin is an important target for anti-cancer cytotoxic treatments. Our on-going research aim is to identify variants of known compounds showing greater tubulin isotype-specific effects. These could potentially lead to more efficacious chemotherapy treatments with lower side effects. Other studies in our group have examined microtubule electrical, structural, and mechanical properties; proteins that bind to microtubules (MAPs); and the motor proteins in cells that travel along microtubules and actin filaments. We are also developing physiologically-based models and simulations for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic applications.

Project Collaborations
Achlys
APCaRI
Alberta DNA repair Consortium
Prophysis

Academic Networks
Linkedin
Researchgate
Google Scholar
Biophysics Community in Canada

Videos

The past, present and future of drug discovery, International Course on Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Systems Biology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2017)

Altered energy metabolism in cancer: the energetic cost of tumors in patients with cachexia, Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery, Banff, Alberta, Canada (2015)

What didn't we know about microtubules 15 years ago but we know now and why is this important?, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra, India (2015)

Molecular Models of Information Processing, Memory Encoding and the Action of Anesthetics at the level of Individual Neurons with Connections to Neurological Disorders, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra, India (2015)

What didn't we know about microtubules 15 years ago but we know now and why is this important?, The 9th Swiss Biennial on Science, Technics + Aesthetics (2012)

From eDX to eRx: The Digital Future of Personalized diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals, TEDx Brussels (2011)

Electrodynamic Signaling by the Dendritic Cytoskeleton, Google Workshop on Quantum Biology (2010)

The Technology and Future of Medicine course LABMP 590, University of Alberta
- Quantum Biology, Winter 2013
- Quantum Biology, Winter 2015
- The mystery of the human brain: memory, information processing and neurodegenerative diseases at the sub-cellular (quantum?) level, Winter 2015
- Quantum Biology, eh?, Fall 2015
- One Hundred Years from Quantum Physics to Quantum Biology: How Long to Quantum Medicine?, Winter 2016
- Biology on the Threshold of Quantum Revolution, Fall 2016
- Quantum Biology Part II, Fall 2016
- From Quantum Physics to Quantum Chemistry in 50 years, to Quantum Biology in 100 years. How long to Quantum Medicine, Winter 2017
- Quantum Biology II, Winter 2017