Assistant Professor Jeffery Klauda
About Dr. Klauda Ph.D., University of Delaware, 2003
Visit Dr. Klauda's personal page » Current Research Dr. Klauda's research interests encompass thermodynamic modeling and molecular simulations with applications in energy, gas separation, and biomolecular systems. Thermodynamic stability of natural gas hydrates (gas encapsulated by a water crystal lattice of cavities) requires high pressures. These are commonly found in pipelines and can plug the flow of natural gas, but also exist in nature in permafrost or the seafloor. His thermodynamic/mass transfer modeling of methane hydrates in the seafloor suggests that there are three orders of magnitude more methane in hydrated form than in conventional global reserves. These results also have huge implications for an alternate source of natural gas reserves within the U.S. to reduce dependency on foreign energy sources. Currently, Dr. Klauda's research is focused on understanding the behavior of cell membranes and how small molecules, such as sugars, cholesterol, and drugs are transported into and out of the cell. This work involves using molecular simulations to study cell membranes at an atomic level. Some of this work began at the National Institutes of Health, where he held his postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Klauda is currently collaborating with experimental groups to better understand membrane function and dynamics at a molecular level, including Professor John Nagle (Carnegie Mellon University), Professor Mary Roberts (Boston College), and Professor Ron Kaback (UCLA). Of specific interest is the cause for multi-drug antibiotic resistance in humans and the corresponding protein transport mechanism. Drug transport protein analogs, such as lactose permease, are used as initial models to understand small molecular transport in bacteria. In the future, direct transporters of antibiotics will be studied to help prevent multi-drug resistance or design better drugs.
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Q&A with Dr. Klauda What impact could your work have on society or consumers? Due to a global high demand for energy, the days of cheap gasoline—under a dollar per gallon—are gone. Although alternate sources of energy are important, there is a vast source of energy in the form of natural gas hydrates in the seafloor. My research in this area has clearly demonstrated the amounts and locations of this non-conventional resource and may prove to be important for energy consumers. My group's research on cell membranes has direct implications for drug transport in bacteria. Understanding the functionality of transport proteins allows for improved design of antibiotics that can effectively prevent a dangerous infection by multi-drug resistant bacteria. What attracted you to the Clark School? I was attracted to the Clark School because of the high-quality faculty and students. The highly collaborative environment within the Clark School, University of Maryland, and surrounding national laboratories is a definite plus for research. Why should young engineers consider chemical and biomolecular engineering for their field of study? There are multiple reasons for choosing chemical and biomolecular engineering as a field of study. The reason I decided to study chemical engineering as an undergrad was the application of chemistry and mathematics to important problems found in various industries. An undergraduate degree in this diverse field could land you a job in the petroleum, pharmaceutical, chemical, paper, or semiconductor industry, just to name a few. Besides the ability to work in varying job areas the salaries of recent B.S. graduates are typically much higher than most and one of highest in engineering. Why is the Clark School a good place for students (graduate or undergraduate) to study chemical and biomolecular engineering? The University of Maryland is nicely located in an area with many high-quality government laboratories (NIST, USDA, NIH, etc.). For those interested in research, there are abundant opportunities to collaborate with scientists at these labs as a graduate or even undergraduate. When I worked as a postdoc at NIH, our lab and others had several undergraduates participating in research during the summer. Aside from the academic strengths, the Washington, D.C. area is a wonderful place to live and there is a multitude of cultural events and sites to visit.
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Before joining the Department in Fall 2007, Dr. Klauda was an Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Postdoctoral Fellow in the Laboratory of Computational Biology at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH). There, he studied lipid forcefield improvements and dynamical behavior of membranes, transport of sugars through the cell membrane via proteins, and enhanced sampling of beta-haripin protein folding.
