Benjamin Walters
Senior Principal Scientist, Biochemical and Cellular Pharmacology, Structural Biology
I received my Ph.D. in 2013, advised by S. Walter Englander at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics studying the basic kinetic mechanisms of protein folding reactions. I joined Genentech as a post-doc in the protein analytical chemistry (PAC-2) and early-stage formulations departments (ESPD) in 2013 with Jennifer Zhang and Tom Patapoff. I have moved around throughout the company working on problems that involve protein dynamics ever since. My lab relies heavily on hydrogen-deuterium exchange experiments along and molecular dynamics simulations. I am currently a senior principal scientist in gRED Drug Discovery, jointly appointed to the departments of Structural Biology and Biochemistry and Cellular Pharmacology. I am also the current chair of the International Society for Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange since 2022.
Postdoctoral Mentor
Working as a post-doc mentor at Genentech has been a gratifying experience. I've had the opportunity to learn from vibrant and intelligent individuals at the onset of their careers. Together, we leverage the extensive array of tools available to Genentech researchers and tap into our vast data repositories to tackle intriguing biophysics problems.
During my tenure as a post-doc at Genentech (2013-2015), I learned how to cultivate a research program in a highly collaborative environment that fostered my development as a scientist. I built rewarding collaborations across the company because of the culture at Genentech. Everyone openly shares their time and resources to help our post-docs succeed. Having the opportunity mentor someone else while working together on engaging research problems has been a highlight of my career.
Featured Publication
Ternary complex dissociation kinetics contribute to mutant-selective EGFR degradation.
Cell Chem Biol. 2023
Rosenberg et al.
Identification of Agitation-Induced Unfolding Events Causing Aggregation of Monoclonal Antibodies Using Hydrogen Exchange-Mass Spectrometry.
J Pharm Sci. 2022
Gamage C.
Multiscale Coarse-Grained Approach to Investigate Self-Association of Antibodies.
Biophys J. 2020
Izadi S. et al.
An Allosteric Anti-tryptase Antibody for the Treatment of Mast Cell-Mediated Severe Asthma.
Cell. 2019
Maun et al.
Empirical Method To Accurately Determine Peptide-Averaged Protection Factors from Hydrogen Exchange MS Data.
Anal. Chem. 2017, 89, 2, 1049–1053
Benjamin T. Walters
HX measurements also serve as a guide or driver for our MD simulations. The group focuses on new ways to simulate macromolecules to determine a variety of data, such as how small molecules bind to their targets, protein-protein interactions, and even their visco-elastic properties. This unique research area sits at the intersection of computational and experimental sciences, positioning our team in a rewarding and innovative space. Presently, we work primarily in the hit-to-lead phase of drug discovery but over the last ten years at Genentech, I have utilized these tools to solve protein dynamics problems throughout discovery and development. See my publications for more examples.
- University of Pennsylvania, Perelman school of medicine, Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Advisor: S. Walter Englander, 2013; HHMI Translational research, Med Into Grad Program – 2010
- North Carolina State University, B.S. Biochemistry, minor in Genetics – 2002-2006
- Genentech, postdoctoral fellow, Advisors Tom Patapoff and Jennifer Zhang – 2013-2015