Masad Damha

Masad Damha is a Canadian academic and nucleic acid chemist. He is James McGill Professor of Chemistry at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.^[1]

Education and career

After growing up in Nicaragua, Damha moved to Montreal, Canada for his post-secondary education and received his BSc and PhD degrees from McGill, the latter under the supervision of Prof. Kelvin Ogilvie. He then accepted a position as assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Erindale College from 1987–1992, at which point he returned to McGill University where he has been teaching ever since.^[1]

Research

Damha's group developed 2'F-ANA^[2] in 1998, which was the first sugar-modified oligonucleotide to allow cleavage by the enzyme RNase H.^[3] A drug candidate made of 2'F-ANA is being developed by Topigen Pharmaceuticals and received approval to start clinical trials in December 2008.^[4]

Damha and his research group have also made several contributions to the synthesis of RNA and novel RNA structures. These include the synthesis of branched and lariat RNA structures^[5][6] as well as novel levulinyl-based protecting group strategies that allow RNA to be synthesized directly on glass microarrays by eliminating the need for fluoride-mediated deprotection.^[7][8]

Awards

Damha received the Chemical Institute of Canada's 2007 Bernard Belleau Award for significant contributions to medicinal chemistry by a Canadian chemist.^[9][10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Biography as a speaker at the Girindus Leadership in Oligonucleotide Symposium, retrieved 2010-09-12.
2. ^ Watts, J.K.; Damha, M.J. (2008). "2′F-Arabinonucleic acids (2′F-ANA) — History, properties, and new frontiers". Can. J. Chem. 86 (7): 641–656. doi:10.1139/V08-049. 
3. ^ Damha, M. J.; Wilds, C. J., Noronha, A., Brukner, I., Borkow, G., Arion, D., Parniak, M. A. (1998). "Hybrids of RNA and arabinonucleic acids (ANA and 2'F-ANA) are substrates of Ribonuclease H". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120 (49): 12976–7. doi:10.1021/ja982325. 
4. ^ http://www.topigen.com/images/pdfs/english_press_releases/2008/2008_12_22_TPI_1100_1020.pdf
5. ^ Carriero, S.; Damha, M.J (2003). "Template-Mediated Synthesis of Lariat RNA and DNA". J. Org. Chem. 68 (22): 8328–8338. doi:10.1021/jo035002r. PMID 14575454. 
6. ^ Mitra, D.; Damha, M.J. (2007). "A Novel Approach to the Synthesis of DNA and RNA Lariats". J. Org. Chem. 72 (25): 9491–9500. doi:10.1021/jo701418w. PMID 17979285. 
7. ^ Lackey, J.G.; Sabatino, D; Damha, M.J (2007). "Solid-Phase Synthesis and On-Column Deprotection of RNA from 2'- (and 3'-) O-Levulinated (Lv) Ribonucleoside Monomers". Org. Lett. 9 (5): 789–792. doi:10.1021/ol0629521. PMID 17279762. 
8. ^ Jeremy G. Lackey; Debbie Mitra, Mark M. Somoza, Franco Cerrina and Masad J. Damha (2009). "Acetal Levulinyl Ester (ALE) Groups for 2′-Hydroxyl Protection of Ribonucleosides in the Synthesis of Oligoribonucleotides on Glass and Microarrays". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131 (24): 8496–8502. doi:10.1021/ja9002074. PMID 19485360. 
9. ^ Canadian Society for Chemistry 2007 award winners, Canadian Chemical News, May 1, 2007.
10. ^ Belleu Award Recipients, Canadian Society for Chemistry, retrieved 2010-09-12.

External links

• Damha research group
• Topigen.com

Persondata
Name	Damha, Masad
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death