Research interests:
Dr. Piotr A Mroz is Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry and Gill Center for Biomolecular Science at the Indiana University, Bloomington. He obtained an advanced degree from the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Poland with specialization in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry. He studied peptide and carbohydrate chemistry under Professors K. Grant Taylor and the late Arno Spatola at the University of Louisville, receiving a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, 2007. He conducted postdoctoral studies with Professor DiMarchi, and in the period 2011−2014 was supported by a Roche Post-Doctoral Fellowship. He is a member of the nontenured research faculty at Indiana University. His primary research interests are synthesis and biophysical optimization of peptides directed at treatment of metabolic diseases.
Representative publications:
- Mroz PA, Chabenne JR, Mayer JP, DiMarchi RD; Structural refinement of glucagon for therapeutic use. J. Med. Chem.63, 3447-3460, 2020
- Mroz PA, Perez-Tilve D, Mayer JP and DiMarchi RD; Site-specific stereochemical inversion as a route to improved biophysical properties of therapeutic peptides, as exemplified by glucagon. Nature - Communication Chemistry, 2: 2, 2019 (This manuscript was selected as one of Communication Chemistry’s highlights of the year and was included in the editors’ picks section of the anniversary collection.)
- Mroz PA, Finan B, Gelfanov V, Yang B, Tschop MH, DiMarchi RD, Perez-Tilve D; Optimized GIP analogs promote body weight lowering in mice through GIPR agonism not antagonism. Molecular Metabolism20, 51-62, 2019 (NovoNordik’s top 5th cited paper for 2015-2019)
- Agrawal A, Parlee S, Perez-Tilve D, Li P, Pan J, Mroz PA, Kruse Hansen AM, Andersen B, Finan B, Kharitonenkov A and DiMarchi RD; Molecular elements in FGF19 and 21 defining KLB/FGFR activity and specificity. Molecular Metabolism13, 45-55, 2018
- Mroz PA, Perez-Tilve-D, Liu F, Mayer JP and DiMarchi RD; Native design of soluble, aggregation-resistant bioactive peptides: Chemical evolution of human glucagon. ACS - Chem. Biol.11, 3412-3420, 2016
- Mroz PA, Perez-Tilve-D, Liu F, Gelfanov V, DiMarchi RD and Mayer JP; Pyridyl-alanine as hydrophilic, aromatic element in peptide structure optimization. J. Med. Chem.59, 5061-8067, 2016
- Schweitzer-Stenner R, Eker F, Huang Q, Griebenow K, Mroz PA, Kozlowski PM; Structure analysis of dipeptides in water by exploring and utilizing the structural sensitivity of amide III by polarized visible Raman, FTIR-spectroscopy and DFT based normal coordinate analysis. J. Phys.Chem. B106 (16), 4294-4304, 2002
- Mroz P, Pietrusiewicz KM, Wolinski K; Theoretical study of 31P NMR chemical shift in five-membered ring C-P heterocycles. Molecular Physics Reports29, 205-209, 2000