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Leif Eriksson
Professor
Department of Chemistry & Molecular BiologyAbout Leif Eriksson
Contact information: Natrium science building, Medicinareg. 7b, 40530 Göteborg; office 7283.
RESEARCH
Theoretical biophysical chemistry in form of computer based modeling of various biochemical processes and systems. Our focus has for a long time related to DNA damage processes, cancer and drug design. In recent years, we have explored increasingly larger systems, including diffusion across biological membranes, drug loaded liposomes, derivation of protein structures and studies of their mechanisms, modeling of protein-protein complexes, and development of new inhibitors in cancer treatment and as antibiotics. A large part of our research deals with understanding at a detailed atomistic level, different stress response mechanisms in the cell, and how we can utilize these in the treatment of aggressive cancers such as glioblastoma, TNBC and brain metastases.
We utilize a wide range of methods in our research, from DFT and QM/MM to molecular dynamics simulations and bioinformatic tools such as VHTS/docking and homology modeling. Since 2020 we develop our own AI-based tools for ultrafast drug discovery, ADMET properties, drug-drug interactions, etc.
ResearcherID: D-1226-2012. ORCID: 0000-0001-5654-3109
Current research group: 1 senior researcher (Dr Jalil Mahdizadeh), 2 Postdocs (Dr Asma Gholami, Dr Shraddha Parate), 1 PhD student (Fredrik Lannestam Holmelin), and several Master students, visiting researchers and PhD students.
TEACHING
Mainly on the following courses: General chemistry (KEM011) Analytical pharmaceutical chemistry (KER210) General pharmaceutical chemistry (KER220) Basic Molecular Modeling (KEM552)
COMMISSIONS OF TRUST
Deputy chair of the National Allocations Committee (NAC) allocating grants of computing time at the Swedish supercomputing centers.
Participates in H2020 MSCA-RISE project VIDEC. Member of UGOT CARe (Center for Antibiotics Resistance Research).
MERITS
Leif Eriksson studied Chemistry at Stockholm university and University of Sussex 1985-1988. He received his PhD in Quantum chemistry at Uppsala University (1992), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Swedish science research council VR (then 'NFR') to go to Dalhousie University, Canada, 92/93. He most recently comes from NUI Galway, Ireland, and holds the current professorship in physical chemistry at GU since 2011. He was awarded the 2017 Pedagogic price from the Science section of the Göta Student Union at University of Gothenburg.
Eriksson has published >300 peer reviewed research papers and some 20 review papers and book chapters, in the field of theoretical/computational (bio)chemistry. He holds the patents of new pharmaceuticals targeting skin cancer, glioblastoma, and Vitamin A degradation, and is part owner of spin-out companies ANYO Labs, C26 Bioscience, and Cell Stress Discoveries. He is currently involved in the development of several new drugs, of which the first are in the patenting stage.
Eriksson's work is supported by e.g. the Swedish Science Research Council (www.vr.se), the Swedish Cancer Foundation (cancerfonden.se), Sven and Lilly Lawski Foundation (lawskistifelsen.se), Wenner-Gren Foundations (swgc.org) and the GBM Foundation (gbmfoundation.com).
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Unraveling the Binding Mode of TSC2-Rheb through Protein Docking and
Simulations
Berith F. Pape, Shaddha Parate, Leif A Eriksson, Vibhu Jha
Biochemistry - 2025 -
iScore: A ML-Based Scoring Function for De Novo Drug
Discovery
Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Leif A Eriksson
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL INFORMATION AND MODELING - 2025 -
Combining kinetics and in silico approaches to evaluate bromhexine as an anti-pancreatic lipase agent for obesity
management
Asma Gholami, Dariush Minai-Tehrani, Leif A Eriksson
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS - 2025 -
Design of Computer Simulation Exercises on Polarity and Intermolecular Attractive
Forces
Fredrik Lannestam Holmelin, Peter Nyström, Geraldine Fauville, Leif A Eriksson
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION - 2025 -
Design and Synthesis of Topoisomerases-Histone Deacetylase Dual Targeted Quinoline-Bridged Hydroxamates as Anticancer
Agents
Gaurav Joshi, Umesh Prasad Yadav, Zahid Rafiq, Preeti Grewal, Manvendra Kumar, Tashvinder Singh, Vibhu Jha, Praveen Sharma, Leif A Eriksson, Lenkalapelly Srinivas, Nilesh Lakshman Dahibhate, Pratima Srivastava, Priyadeep Bhutani, Uttam Kumar Mishra, Ashoke Sharon, Uttam C. Banerjee, Nisha Sharma, Joydeep Chatterjee, Kulbhushan Tikoo, Sandeep Singh, Raj Kumar
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY - 2025 -
Computational Characterization of the Interaction of CARD Domains in the
Apoptosome
Rita Ortega-Vallbona, Linda C Johansson, Laureano E. Carpio, Eva Serrano-Candelas, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Howard Fearnhead, Rafael Gozalbes, Leif A Eriksson
BIOCHEMISTRY - 2025 -
An automated positive selection screen in yeast provides support for boron-containing compounds as inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main
protease
Sunniva Sigurdardóttir, Suélen Fernandes Silva, Ievgeniia Tiukova, Hanna Alalam, Ross D. King, Morten Grötli, Leif A Eriksson, Per Sunnerhagen
Microbiology Spectrum - 2024 -
An experimental target-based platform in yeast for screening Plasmodium vivax deoxyhypusine synthase
inhibitors
Suélen Fernandes Silva, Angélica Hollunder Klippel, Sunniva Sigurdardóttir, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Ievgeniia Tiukova, Catarina Bourgard, Luis Carlos Salazar-Alvarez, Heloísa Monteiro do Amaral Prado, Renan Vinicius de Araujo, Fabio Trindade Maranhão Costa, Elizabeth Bilsland, Ross D King, Katlin Brauer Massirer, Leif A Eriksson, Mário Henrique Bengtson, Cleslei Fernando Zanelli, Per Sunnerhagen
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - 2024 -
Phosphorylation of GCN2 by mTOR confers adaptation to conditions of hyper-mTOR activation under
stress
Odai Darawshi, Olaya Yassin, Miri Shmuel, Ronald C. Wek, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Leif A Eriksson, Maria Hatzoglou, Boaz Tirosh
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY - 2024 -
Mechanism of Dual-Site Recognition in a Classic DNA
Aptamer
Yun-Peng Wang, Leif A Eriksson, Ru-Bo Zhang
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL INFORMATION AND MODELING - 2024 -
Selectivity analysis of diaminopyrimidine-based inhibitors of MTHFD1, MTHFD2 and
MTHFD2L
Vibhu Jha, Leif A Eriksson
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS - 2024 -
Dess-Martin periodinane-mediated oxidation of the primary alcohol of cytidine into a carboxylic
acid
Alexandra R. E. Serre, Vibhu Jha, Adele Rivault, Leif A Eriksson, Goreti Ribeiro Morais, Robert A. Falconer
ORGANIC & BIOMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY - 2024 -
Discovery of novel inhibitors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipase enzyme from in silico and in vitro
studies
Asma Gholami, D. Minai-Tehrani, Anne Farewell, Leif A Eriksson
Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics - 2024 -
UFMylation: a ubiquitin-like
modification
Xingchen Zhou, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Matthieu Le Gallo, Leif A Eriksson, Eric Chevet, Elodie Lafont
Trends in Biochemical Sciences - 2024 -
Multiscale In Silico Study of the Mechanism of Activation of the RtcB Ligase by the PTP1B
Phosphatase
Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Michael Stier, Antonio Carlesso, Aurore Lamy, Melissa Thomas, Leif A Eriksson
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL INFORMATION AND MODELING - 2024 -
Different binding modalities of quercetin to inositol-requiring enzyme 1 of S. cerevisiae and human lead to opposite
regulation
Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Johan Grandén, Diana Pelizzari-Raymundo, Xavier Guillory, Antonio Carlesso, Eric Chevet, Leif A Eriksson
Communications Chemistry - 2024 -
Insights into the structure and function of the RNA ligase
RtcB
M. Moncan, H. Rakhsh-Khorshid, Leif A Eriksson, A. Samali, A. M. Gorman
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences - 2023 -
Binding Modes of Xanthine-Derived Selective Allosteric Site Inhibitors of
MTHFD2
Vibhu Jha, Leif A Eriksson
Chemistryopen - 2023 -
Gene Editing Corrects In Vitro a G > A GLB1 Transition from a GM1 Gangliosidosis
Patient
D. Leclerc, L. Goujon, S. Jaillard, B. Nouyou, L. Cluzeau, L. Damaj, C. Dubourg, A. Etcheverry, T. Levade, R. Froissart, S. Dreano, X. Guillory, Leif A Eriksson, E. Launay, F. Mouriaux, M. A. Belaud-Rotureau, S. Odent, D. Gilot
Crispr Journal - 2023 -
Metalloprotease-mediated cleavage of CD95
ligand
V. Risso, Melissa Thomas, B. Guevel, R. Lavigne, E. Com, S. Martin, M. Nivet, C. Pineau, L. Negroni, E. Lafont, E. Chevet, Leif A Eriksson, M. Le Gallo
FEBS Journal - 2023 -
A novel IRE1 kinase inhibitor for adjuvant glioblastoma
treatment
D. Pelizzari-Raymundo, D. Doultsinos, R. Pineau, C. Sauzay, T. Koutsandreas, T. Langlais, Antonio Carlesso, E. Gkotsi, L. Negroni, T. Avril, A. Chatziioannou, E. Chevet, Leif A Eriksson, X. Guillory
iScience - 2023 -
Binding Analysis and Structure-Based Design of Tricyclic Coumarin-Derived MTHFD2 Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents: Insights from Computational
Modeling
Vibhu Jha, Fredrik Lannestam Holmelin, Leif A Eriksson
Acs Omega - 2023 -
Structural Insights into Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exotoxin A-Elongation Factor 2 Interactions: A Molecular Dynamics
Study
Asma Gholami, D. Minai-Tehrani, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, P. Saenz-Mendez, Leif A Eriksson
Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling - 2023 -
In silico and in vitro studies confirm Ondansetron as a novel acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase
inhibitor
Asma Gholami, D. Minai-Tehrani, Leif A Eriksson
Scientific Reports - 2023 -
High-resolution structure of a fish aquaporin reveals a novel extracellular
fold
Jiao Zeng, Florian Schmitz, Simon Isaksson, Jessica Glas, Olivia Arbab, Martin Andersson, Kristina Sundell, Leif A Eriksson, Kunchithapadam Swaminathan, Susanna Törnroth-Horsefield, Kristina Hedfalk
Life Science Alliance - 2022 -
A novel DPH5-related diphthamide-deficiency syndrome causing embryonic lethality or profound neurodevelopmental
disorder
Suma P. Shankar, Kristin Grimsrud, Louise Lanoue, Alena Egense, Brandon Willis, Johanna Hörberg, Lama AlAbdi, Klaus Mayer, Koray Ütkür, Kristin G. Monaghan, Joel Krier, Joan Stoler, Maha Alnemer, Prabhu R. Shankar, Raffael Schaffrath, Fowzan S. Alkuraya, Ulrich Brinkmann, Leif A Eriksson, Kent Lloyd, Katherine A. Rauen
Genetics in Medicine - 2022 -
Virtual Screening Expands the Non-Natural Amino Acid Palette for Peptide
Optimization
Kosala N. Amarasinghe, L. De Maria, C. Tyrchan, Leif A Eriksson, J. Sadowski, D. Petrovic
Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling - 2022 -
Stress-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of RtcB modulates IRE1 activity and signaling
outputs
A. Papaioannou, F. Centonze, A. Metais, M. Maurel, L. Negroni, M. Gonzalez-Quiroz, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Gabriella Svensson, Ensieh Zare, A. Blondel, A. C. Koong, C. Hetz, R. Pedeux, M. L. Tremblay, Leif A Eriksson, E. Chevet
Life science alliance - 2022 -
Markov state models elucidate the stability of DNA influenced by the chiral 5S-Tg
base
S. D. Wang, R. B. Zhang, Leif A Eriksson
Nucleic Acids Research - 2022 -
QM/MM Well-Tempered Metadynamics Study of the Mechanism of XBP1 mRNA Cleavage by Inositol Requiring Enzyme 1 alpha
RNase
Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Emil Pålsson, Antonio Carlesso, E. Chevet, Leif A Eriksson
Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling - 2022 -
Mechanical strain stimulates COPII-dependent secretory trafficking via
Rac1
S. Phuyal, E. Djaerff, A. L. Le Roux, M. J. Baker, D. Fankhauser, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, V. Reiterer, A. Parizadeh, E. Felder, J. C. Kahlhofer, D. Teis, M. G. Kazanietz, S. Geley, Leif A Eriksson, P. Roca-Cusachs, H. Farhan
Embo Journal - 2022 -
Dynamics of 5R-Tg Base Flipping in DNA Duplexes Based on Simulations-Agreement with Experiments and
Beyond
S. D. Wang, Leif A Eriksson, R. B. Zhang
Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling - 2022 -
Computational Studies of the Photodegradation Mechanism of the Highly Phototoxic Agent
Benoxaprofen
K. A. K. Musa, Leif A Eriksson
Acs Omega - 2022 -
Sensor dimer disruption as a new mode of action to block the IRE1-mediated unfolded protein
response
Kosala N. Amarasinghe, D. Pelizzari-Raymundo, Antonio Carlesso, E. Chevet, Leif A Eriksson, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh
Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal - 2022 -
Anterior gradient proteins in gastrointestinal cancers: from cell biology to
pathophysiology
Emeric Boisteau, Céline Posseme, Federico Di Modugno, Julien Edeline, Cédric Coulouarn, Roman Hrstka, Andrea Martisova, Frédéric Delom, Xavier Treton, Leif A Eriksson, Eric Chevet, Astrid Lièvre, Eric Ogier-Denis
Oncogene - 2022 -
Structure-Based Drug Discovery of IRE1
Modulators
D. Pelizzari Raymundo, Leif A Eriksson, E. Chevet, X. Guillory
The Unfolded Protein Response - 2022 -
Structural and molecular bases to IRE1 activity
modulation
T. Langlais, D. Pelizzari-Raymundo, Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, N. Gouault, F. Carreaux, E. Chevet, Leif A Eriksson, X. Guillory
Biochemical Journal - 2021 -
SARS-CoV-2 integral membrane proteins shape the serological responses of patients with
COVID-19
S. Martin, C. Heslan, G. Jegou, Leif A Eriksson, M. Le Gallo, V. Thibault, E. Chevet, F. Godey, T. Avril
Iscience - 2021 -
Molecular-dynamics-simulation-guided membrane engineering allows the increase of membrane fatty acid chain length in Saccharomyces
cerevisiae
J. M. Maertens, S. Scrima, M. Lambrughi, Samuel Genheden, C. Trivellin, Leif A Eriksson, E. Papaleo, L. Olsson, M. Bettiga
Scientific Reports - 2021 -
Reconstruction of the Fas-Based Death-Inducing Signaling Complex ( DISC) Using a Protein-Protein Docking
Meta-Approach
Sayyed Jalil Mahdizadeh, Melissa Thomas, Leif A Eriksson
Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling - 2021 -
Loss of WD2 subdomain of Apaf-1 forms an apoptosome structure which blocks activation of caspase-3 and
caspase-9
A. R. Noori, A. Tashakor, M. Nikkhah, Leif A Eriksson, S. Hosseinkhani, H. O. Fearnhead
Biochimie - 2021 -
Peptidomimetic-based identification of FDA-approved compounds inhibiting IRE1
activity
D. Doultsinos, Antonio Carlesso, C. Chintha, J. C. Paton, A. W. Paton, A. Samali, E. Chevet, Leif A Eriksson
Febs Journal - 2021 -
Apoptosome Formation through Disruption of the K192-D616 Salt Bridge in the Apaf-1 Closed
Form
F. Sahebazzamani, S. Hosseinkhani, Leif A Eriksson, H. O. Fearnhead
Acs Omega - 2021 -
The stressosome, a caspase-8-activating signalling complex assembled in response to cell stress in an ATG5-mediated
manner
K. Mnich, I. Koryga, K. Pakos-Zebrucka, Melissa Thomas, S. E. Logue, Leif A Eriksson, A. M. Gorman, A. Samali
Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine - 2021 -
Protein kinase A controls yeast growth in visible
light
Mikael Molin, Katarina Logg, Kristofer Bodvard, Ken Peeters, Annabelle Forsmark, Friederike Roger, Anna Jörhov, Neha Mishra, Jean-Marc Billod, Sabiha Amir, Mikael Andersson, Leif A Eriksson, Jonas Warringer, Mikael Käll, Anders Blomberg
BMC biology - 2020 -
Molecular dynamics study of the recognition of ATP by nucleic acid
aptamers
Y. C. Xie, Leif A Eriksson, R. B. Zhang
Nucleic acids research - 2020 -
Interaction of cobalt and iron hydroperoxo bleomycin with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): Dynamic vs. electronic structure
considerations
F. Carrascoza, M. Surducan, Leif A Eriksson, R. Silaghi-Dumitrescu
Inorganica Chimica Acta - 2020 -
Oxygen Dependent Purine Lesions in Double-Stranded Oligodeoxynucleotides: Kinetic and Computational Studies Highlight the Mechanism for 5 ',8-Cyclopurine
Formation
C. Chatgilialoglu, Leif A Eriksson, M. G. Krokidis, A. Masi, S. D. Wang, R. B. Zhang
Journal of the American Chemical Society - 2020 -
Footprints of natural selection at the mannose-6-phosphate isomerase locus in
barnacles
J. C. B. Nunez, P. A. Flight, K. B. Neil, S. Rong, Leif A Eriksson, D. A. Ferranti, Magnus Alm Rosenblad, Anders Blomberg, D. M. Rand
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America - 2020 -
Molecular modeling provides a structural basis for PERK inhibitor selectivity towards
RIPK1
C. Chintha, Antonio Carlesso, A. M. Gorman, A. Samali, Leif A Eriksson
RSC Advances - 2020
More publications
We have limited the number of publications on this page. Visit GUP (The Publication Database for Gothenburg University) to find more publications.