Bio: Dr. James Andrew McCammon holds the Joseph E. Mayer Chair of Theoretical Chemistry at UCSD and is professor of Pharmacology at the UCSD School of Medicine. A relative newcomer to UCSD, for 13 years McCammon held the M.D. Anderson Chair of Chemistry at the University of Houston; for his last seven years there he was also the director of the Institute for Molecular Design. 

McCammon's research focuses on the statistical mechanics of macromolecules and liquids; the theory of protein and nucleic acid structure and function; the development and application of computer models; and simulation methods for molecular systems. McCammon has invented theoretical methods for accurately predicting and interpreting molecular recognition, the rates of diffusion-controlled reactions, and other properties of chemical systems. In addition to their fundamental interest, these methods play a growing role in the design of useful materials.

Rational drug design, molecular simulations, and questions in structural biology.