Jeffery Davis
Contact Info
Office: CHM 3345
Phone: 301-405-1845
Jeffery Davis
Professor

Education

  • Colby College, B. A. 1981
  • M.I.T, Ph.D. 1987
  • University of Washington, NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow, 1990-93

Professional Experience

  • Genzyme Co., Boston, 1987-1990
  • University of Maryland, Assistant Professor, 1993-99
  • University of Maryland, Associate Professor, 1999-2003
  • University of Maryland, Professor, 2003-present
  • Associate Chair, Graduate Studies, 2014-2017
  • Visiting Professor, University of Twente, Netherlands. 2002-2003.

Research Interests

Supramolecular Chemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry, Natural Products Chemistry

Major Recognitions and Honors

  • NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, 1991-1993
  • Outstanding Junior Faculty, Chemical and Life Sciences, UMCP 1997
  • Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, 1998-2003
  • Inaugural Chemical Society Review Lectureship, 2006
  • University of Maryland Distinguished Teacher-Scholar, 2018-19

Significant Professional Service and Activities

UMCP Nanotechnology Advisory Board, 2004-present; Royal Society of Chemistry Inaugural Lecturer (2006); Organizer, 9th International Conference on Calixarene Chemistry (2007); Organizer, 9th International Conference on Calixarene Chemistry (2007); Co-Organizer, 8th International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (2013)

Students Mentored

To date over 35 undergraduates have done research with Prof. Davis. He has also mentored 18 Ph. D. degree recipients and 10 M. S. degree recipients.

Supramolecular Chemistry, Molecular Self-Assembly, Functional Nanostructures, Transmembrane Ion Transport

We are making functional supramolecular structures via self-assembly.

  • Supramolecular Hydrogels from natural products have promise in drug delivery and tissue engineering. We have foundSupramolecular Hydrogels chemical composition that potassium borate templates self-assembly of guanosine into a supramolecular hydrogel. This guanosine-borate (GB) hydrogel is stable in salt water and absorbs cationic dyes and antiviral drugs. We are working to determine the mechanism of formation and the range of applications for these hydrogels.

 For some recent papers, see:

“Supramolecular Hydrogels for Environmental Remediation: G4-Quartet Gels that Selectively Absorb Anionic Dyes from Water.”  Taylor N. Plank, Luke P. Skala and Jeffery T. Davis, Chem. Commun.201753, 6235-6238. DOI: 10.1039/C7CC03118A

“Co‐existence of Distinct Supramolecular Assemblies in Solution and in the Solid State.” G. N. Manjunatha Reddy, Aida Huqi, Dinu Iuga, Satoshi Sakurai, Andrew Marsh, Jeffery T. Davis, Stefano Masiero and Steven P. Brown, Chem. Eur. J., 201723, 2315-2322.  DOI:10.1002/chem.201604832

“Controlling Molecularity and Stability of Hydrogen Bonded G‐Quadruplexes by Modulating the Structure’s Periphery.” Keith B. Sutyak, Peter Y. Zavalij, Michael L. Robinson and Jeffery T. Davis, Chem. Commun. 201652, 11112‐11115. DOI: 10.1039/c6cc06271g

“A G4∙K+ Hydrogel that Self‐Destructs.” Taylor N. Plank and Jeffery T. Davis, Chem. Commun. 2016, 52, 5037‐5041. DOI: 10.1039/C6CC01494A

“A Molecular Chaperone for G4‐Quartet Hydrogels.” Gretchen M. Peters, Luke Skala, Jeffery T. Davis, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 134-139. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b08769