Jonathan Meyers, Ph.D.

Education and Certifications

• B.S., Chemistry with ACS Certification, University of West Georgia, 2004
• Ph.D., Biological Chemistry, Indiana University, 2012

Biography

Dr. Meyers grew up in rural Louisiana, and moved to Georgia for the first time in 1998. While living in Carrollton, he attended the University of West Georgia where he earned his B.S. in chemistry. In 2012, he earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry with a focus on chemical biology from Indiana University. At IU he studied under the guidance of Dr. Richard DiMarchi (inventor of the first biosynthetic peptide analog approved by the FDA), and his thesis focused on eliminating the carcinogenic potential of insulin based therapies used for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus. His research resulted in a patent that was licensed to an international pharmaceutical company, and his insulin analogs are currently being tested in animal models. Dr. Meyers moved to Georgia for the second time in the summer of 2014 to fulfill his long standing goal of becoming a professor at a regional university with a strong commitment to undergraduate research.

Academic Areas

Building upon his graduate research experience, Dr. Meyers has a continued interest in modification of natural peptides as a means of achieving superior pharmacological properties.While all the research in his lab aims to elucidate the underlying links between cancer and diabetes, individual projects falls into two broad categories: a structure activity relationship study of the recently discovered hormone preptin and the development of new methodologies for the biosynthesis of aggregation prone peptides.