Brian Masek, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist and Product Manager

Dr. Masek joined Tripos in 2005, and is a product manager and Lead Scientist. Dr. Masek's research involves the development and validation of novel CADD (computer-assisted drug discovery) methods. His current research interests include molecular invention to generate drug candidates that optimize multiple drug design criteria and informatics tools for multicriteria drug prioritization. He is validating the rigor of these new CADD methodologies through scientific publications and demonstrating the application of these methods to solving drug discovery problems. Prior to joining Tripos, Dr. Masek was the Director for Scientific Research and Development at Optive Research, Inc. There he continued the scientific research and commercial software development that Prof. Robert S. Pearlman and the Laboratory for the Development of Computer Assisted Drug Discovery Software had conducted over the past twenty-five years.

From 1986 until 2001, Dr. Masek held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in the Research Department at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, a top-tier global pharmaceutical company, which spends $3.1 billion each year on the research and development of new drugs and therapeutic agents. Initially, he held the position of Research Scientist and then Sr. Research Scientist at AstraZeneca's research site in Wilmington, Delaware. His research focused on developing novel computer-assisted drug discovery (CADD) methods and using these CADD methods to discover new drugs. Dr. Masek was then promoted to the position of Associate Director of Physical Sciences at AstraZeneca and, for eight years, had responsibility for directing over 20 scientists in a variety of drug discovery areas including the computer-assisted drug discovery area.

Academics

PhD Physical Organic Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, California, USA
BA Chemistry, Kearney State College, Nebraska, USA

Research Interests

CADD methods, spectroscopy and structural chemistry, structural biology, physical and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) measurements

Patents

A.H. Ratcliffe and B. B. Masek, Pyrazolopyridine Derivatives as Angiotensin II Antagonists. International Patent WO 9403453 (1994).

A.H. Ratcliffe, R.J. Pearce, K.H. Gibson, R. Wood, and B.B. Masek, 1,6-Naphthyridone Derivatives having Angiotensin II Antagonist Activity. United States Patents 5,217,976 and 5,294,620 (1993).

A.H. Ratcliffe, R.J. Pearce, K.H. Gibson, R. Wood, and B.B. Masek, Preparation of Naphthyridine Derivatives as Angiotensin II Inhibitors. European Patent 0 516 392 A2 (1992).

M.P. Edwards, R.J. Pearce, and B.B. Masek, Preparation of 1-(tetrazolylbiphenylylmethyl)pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridines as Angiotensin II Antagonists. European Patent 0 511 791 A2 (1992)

M.P. Edwards, R.J. Pearce, and B.B. Masek, Pyrrolopyridine Derivatives as Angiotensin Inhibitors. European Patent 0 511 791 A2 (1992).

Selected Publications

Naphtho[2,1-b][1,5] and [1,2-f][1,4]oxazocines as selective NK1 antagonists. Ohnmacht CJ, Albert JS, Bernstein PR, Rumsey WL, Masek BB, Dembofsky BT, Koether GM, Andisik DW, Aharony D., Bioorg. Med. Chem. May 15;12(10):2653-69, 2004.

Design and optimization of cyclized NK1 antagonists with controlled atropisomeric properties. J.S. Albert, C. Ohnmacht, P.R. Bernstein, W.L. Rumsey, D. Aharony, B.B. Masek, B.T. Dembofsky, G.M. Koether, W. Potts, and J.L. Evenden, Tetrahedron, 60, 4337-4347, 2004.

N-Aryl-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methyl-propanamides: Katp Potassium Channel Openers. Modifications on the Western Region. C.J Ohnmacht, K. Russell, J.R. Empfield, C.A. Frank, K.H. Gibson, D. R Mayhugh, F. M. McLaren, H.S. Shapiro, F.J. Brown, D.A. Trainor, C. Ceccarelli, M.M. Lin, B.B. Masek, J.M. Forst, R.J. Harris, J.M. Hulsizer, J.J. Lewis, S.M. Silverman, R.W. Smith, P.J. Warwick, S.T. Kau, A.L. Chun, T.L. Grant, B.B. Howe, J.H. Li, S. Trivedi, T.J. Halterman, C. Yochim, M.C. Dyroff, M. Kirkland, and K.L. Neilson, J. Med. Chem., 39, 4592-4601, 1996.

Chapter 7. Molecular Surface Comparisons. B.B. Masek in Molecular Similarity in Drug Discovery, P.M. Dean, Ed.; Blackey Academic and Professional, New York, 1995.

Chapter 8. Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists: Molecular Modeling. R.H. Bradbury, B.B. Masek, and D.A. Roberts in Medicinal Chemistry of the Renin-Angiotensin System, P.B.M.W.M. Timmermans and R.R. Wexler, Eds.; Elsevier, New York, 1994.

Molecular Skins: A New Concept for the Quantitative Shape Matching of a Protein with its Small Molecule Mimics. B.B. Masek, A. Merchant, and J.B. Matthew, Proteins, 17, 193-202 (1993).

Molecular Shape Comparison of Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists. B.B. Masek, A. Merchant and J.B. Matthew, J. Med. Chem., 36, 1230-1238 (1993).

New Nonpeptide Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists. 3. Synthesis, Biological Properties, and Structure-Activity Relationships of 2-Alkyl-4-(biphenylylmethoxy)pyridine Derivatives. R.H. Bradbury, C.P. Allott, M. Dennis, J.A. Girdwood, P.W. Kenny, J. S. Major, B.B. Masek, A.A. Oldham, R.J. Pearce, N. Rankine, J.M. Revill, D.A. Roberts, and S.T. Russell, J. Med. Chem., 36, 1245-54 (1993).

New Nonpeptide Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists. 2. Synthesis, Biological Properties, and Structure-Activity Relationships of 2-Alkyl-4-(biphenyl)methoxyquinoline Derivatives. R.H. Bradbury, C.P. Allott, M. Dennis, E. Fisher, J. S. Major, B.B. Masek, A.A. Oldham, R.J. Pearce, N. Rankine, J.M. Revill, D.A. Roberts, and S.T. Russell, J. Med. Chem.., 35, 4027-4038 (1992).

New Nonpeptide Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists. 1. Synthesis, Biological Properties, and Structure-Activity Relationships of 2-Alkyl Benzimidazole Derivatives. A.P. Thomas, C.P. Allott, K.H. Gibson, J.S. Major, B.B. Masek, A.A. Oldham, A.H. Radcliffe, D.A. Roberts, S.T. Russell, and D.A. Thomason, J. Med. Chem., 35, 877-885 (1992).

Analytical Energy Derivatives and Normal Modes in Force Fields Employing Lone-Pair Pseudoatoms. M. Waldman and B.B. Masek, J. Comp. Chem., 10, 856-860 (1989).

Determining the Conformation of Organic Macrocycles through a Combination of Dale's Rules, Molecular Mechanics, Solid State13C NMR, and X-ray Diffraction, B.B. Masek, B.D. Santarsiero, and D.A. Dougherty, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 109, 4373-79 (1987).

DNMR and Molecular Mechanics Studies of the Enantiomerization of Long-Chain (1,5)-Naphthaleneophanes, M.H. Chang, B.B. Masek, and D.A. Dougherty, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 107, 1124-33 (1985).

An NMR Kinetics Experiment, D. Kaufman, C. Sterner, B. Masek, R. Svenningsen, and G. Samuelson, J. Chem. Educ., 59, 885-6 (1982).