The Chong Lab Research Group
Principal Investigator
Professor, Department of Chemistry
PhD, Biophysics, UCSF
BS, Chemistry, MIT
Room 331, Eberly Hall
Email: ltchong AT pitt DOT edu
Tel: 412-624-6026
ORCID: 0000-0002-0590-483X
Biography
I am a computational biophysicist and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, with affiliations in the Joint CMU-Pitt PhD programs in Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology, and Computational Biology. My group is best known for advancing weighted ensemble path sampling strategies for simulating rare events, developing implicitly polarized AMBER force fields, and performing molecular simulations of pathways and kinetics underlying complex biological processes. I also lead the development of WESTPA, a highly scalable, open-source software package for weighted ensemble simulations. My honors include an NSF CAREER Award, a collaborative Gordon Bell Special Prize in COVID-19 Research, and a Tina & David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Pittsburgh. I also serve on the Scientific Advisory Board of OpenEye Scientific, Cadence.My interest in computational biophysics began as an undergraduate chemistry major at MIT, where I worked with Bruce Tidor on continuum electrostatics of protein-protein interactions. This experience led me to pursue a Ph.D. in biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, where I worked with Peter Kollman to study enzyme catalysis using molecular dynamics simulations. I then conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University with Vijay Pande and the IBM Almaden Research Center with Bill Swope, focusing on large-scale simulations of the p53 oligomerization domain using the Folding@Home distributing computing resource.
Outside of research, I enjoy creative writing, yoga, and long walks.
The Chong Group’s academic geneology – we all stand on the shoulders of giants.
Current Group Members
Postdoctoral Associate
PhD, Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
BA, Chemistry, Occidental College
Room 338, Eberly Hall
Email: jml230 AT pitt DOT edu
ORCID: 0000-0001-7021-4619
Postdoctoral Associate
PhD, Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
B.S.C, Chemistry, BS, Mathematics, Lebanon Valley College
Room 338, Eberly Hall
Email: srs215 AT pitt DOT edu
ORCID: 0009-0006-9420-1357
PhD Candidate in Chemistry
BS, Chemistry, Austin Peay State University
Room 338, Eberly Hall
Email: bwf15 AT pitt DOT edu
PhD Candidate in Computational Biology
BS, Biochemistry, Muhlenberg College
Room 338, Eberly Hall
Email: amg535 AT pitt DOT edu
Chemistry and Biology Major
Room 338, Eberly Hall
Email: kjs189 AT pitt DOT edu
Group Alumni
- Matthew Zwier, PhD in Chemistry (2013), A&S and Mellon Fellow, now an Associate Professor at Drake University.
- Yiwen Zou, BS in Chemistry (2012), PharmD student at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Med, now a Specialty Clinical Pharmacist.
- Darian Yang, PhD in Biophysics (2024), Co-advisor: Angela Gronenborn, Mellon Fellow, now a postdoc with Kresten Lindorff-Larsen (University of Copenhagen).
- David Wang, BPhil in Chemistry & Applied Math (2012), Harvard-MIT HST program, now an Assistant Professor at U. Pittsburgh Medical School.
- Paul Torrillo, BS in Molecular Biology & Applied Math (2021), NSF GRFP award, now a PhD in math candidate at MIT.
- Jakob Sorkness, BS in Chemistry(2017), Writer in Residence, now at Salubris Biotherapeutics.
- Riccardo Solazzo, Visiting MS student from University of Bologna, Italy (2022), now a PhD candidate with Sereina Riniker (ETH Zurich).
- Marion Silvestrini, postdoc (2021-2023), now a postdoc with Amelie Stein (University of Copenhagen).
- Claire Shao, North Allegheny Senior High School (2019-2020), now a math major at Stanford University.
- Joseph Seemiller (2011), TecBio REU participant, now a neurology resident at Johns Hopkins University.
- Reza Salari, PhD in Chemistry (2012), A&S Fellow, now a radiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
- Maria (Panteva) Salari, BS in Chemistry (2010), now an Assistant Professor at McKendree University.
- Ali Sinan Saglam, PhD in Chemistry (2018), DAAD Grant awardee, now a Computational Chemist at VantAI.
- Nicholas Rego, BS in Bioinformatics & Economics (2012), now a postdoc with Amish Patel (U. Pennsylvania).
- Hannah Piston, BS in Chemistry (2019), now a medical student at U. Pittsburgh.
- Brandon Mills, BPhil/MS in Chemistry (2014), A&S Fellow, now a Senior Analyst at Accenture Scientific Informatics Services.
- Yuanhao (Leo) Li, postdoc (2023-2024), now a Research Associate at the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, China.
- Joseph Kaus, BS in Chemistry (2011), A&S Fellow, now a Senior Software Engineer II at Relay Therapeutics.
- Parmila Kafley, BS in chemistry & political science (2020), now a PhD in chemistry candidate with Ross Wang (Temple University).
- Daniel Hatfield, BS in Chemistry (2013), A&S Fellow, now a science high school teacher at Jack M. Hebrew Academy.
- Natalia Hajlasz, Allderdice High School (2014-2017), Regeneron High School STS 2017 Finalist, now a G1 at NYU’s Courant Institute.
- Elissa Fink (2017), TecBio REU participant, now a PhD candidate in biophysics with Brian Shoichet (UCSF).
- Max Dudek, BS in Molecular Biology & Computer Science (2021), NSF GRFP Award, now a PhD in chemistry candidate at U Penn.
- Alex DeGrave, BS in Molecular Biology & Applied Math (2018), now an MD/PhD student with Su-In Lee (U. Washington).
- Karl Debiec, PhD in Biophysics (2017), Co-advisor: Angela Gronenborn, Mellon Fellow, now a software engineer at Epic Systems.
- Anthony Bogetti, PhD in Chemistry (2023), Mellow Fellow, now a postdoc with Ken Dill (Stony Brook University).
- Monica Bhattacharjee, BS in Chemistry (2009), medical student at the U. Maryland at Baltimore.
- Andrew Bellesis, MS in Biophysics (2020), now a Lab Manager at CMU.
- Lewis Baker, BS in Applied Math (2015), now a Data Scientist at Amyris.
- Rhea Abraham, BS in Neuroscience (2025), now an MD student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.