Research Areas:

Organic chemistry, Peptides and peptidomimetics, Biochemistry, Enzymology, Enzyme mechanisms, Enzyme inhibition, Proteases, Medicinal chemistry, Computational biochemistry.

Particular research areas (projects):

1. Organic synthesis, peptides and peptidomimetics: amino acid- and peptide bond replacement, N- and C-terminal functional groups.
2. Enzyme catalysis and inhibition mechanisms. The catalytic machinery of proteases, acid-base catalysis, pKa and protonation state of catalytic residues, the mechanism of inhibition by unique inhibitors.
3. Development of inhibitors for enzymes with potential therapeutic applications.
4. Computational biochemistry: enzyme mechanisms, development of computer-assisted drug design  tools and their implication in inhibitor- and drug design.
5. Medicinal chemistry: anti-necrotic compounds, anti-cancer Te compounds, treatment for autism.

Background

Prof. Amnon Albeck conducted postdoctoral research in the Graduate Department of Biochemistry at Brandeis University (USA) after completing his PhD (direct track) in the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and his BSc degree in Chemistry from Bar-Ilan University. He joined the Department of Chemistry at BIU as a faculty member and recipient of the Alon Fellowship for young investigators in 1990. He is currently a professor of chemistry, head of the Julius Spokojny Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, and a member of the Marcus Center for Medicinal Chemistry at Bar-Ilan University. Since 2014, he served as the BIU Vice Rector and in 2020, he was appointed the Rector to succeed Prof. Miriam Faust.
Prof. Albeck’s research includes two main themes: enzyme catalytic mechanisms and inhibition, and organic synthesis of peptides and peptidomimetics. These studies are multidisciplinary, involving synthetic organic chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, biochemistry, enzymology, cellular biology and computational chemistry.
Prof. Albeck has published some 80 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. He earned research grants from competitive granting agencies (ISF, BSF, NIH), the Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor (MAGNET, KAMIN), and high-tech industries, and has also received personal and institutional equipment grants. Prof. Albeck has supervised 70 graduate and post-graduate students. He has been teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate level courses in the fields of organic chemistry, biochemistry, and enzymology. He has coordinated teaching labs in organic chemistry, and lectures on laboratory safety. 
Throughout the years, Prof. Albeck has served on many university committees, including the university Appointment Committee, and is a member of the BIU Senate. He was one of the founders of Bar-Ilan’s Biophysics Program. In the past, he chaired the Department of Chemistry. Outside the university, Prof. Albeck has held additional academic positions, as a member of the National Chemical Chemistry Education Committee (Israel Ministry of Education), as a member of the Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship Committee, and as a member of the Academic Steering Committee of the Carbohydrates Center at Ben-Gurion University. He also served on the Board of Executives of the Israel Chemical Society and on the Board of Executives of the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation.