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Andrew Pohorille
NASA Ames Research Center

About

Andrew Pohorille received Ph.D. in theoretical physics (with specialty in biophysics) from University of Warsaw. He did his postdoctoral work with Prof. Bernard Pullman at the institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique in Paris. Since 1992 he has been professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California San Francisco. In 1996 he joined the staff of NASA Ames Research Center, where he directs the NASA Center for Computational Astrobiology. In 2000 he received NASA Award for Astrobiology and in 2002 he was awarded NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. In 2005 he was named Distinguished Lecturer at the Centre for Mathematical Modeling and the National Centre for Space Research in the U.K.

His main interests have been focused on modeling the origins of life, computer simulations of biomolecular systems, modeling genetic and metabolic networks, and statistical mechanics of condensed phases. He also works on the development of novel computational methods for parallel and distributed computing. Most recently, he has been working on developing concepts and designing instruments for microbiology experiments on small satellites and in the lunar environment, and on new ways to organize scientific information. His other research interests are rather eclectic — in recent years he published papers in diverse areas, ranging from the structure of comets to the mechanism of anesthetic action and risky decision-making. He coauthored nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications.

Current Projects

NAI Project Collaborators

Publications

  • Des Marais, D. J., Allamandola, L. J., Benner, S. A., Boss, A. P., Deamer, D., Falkowski, P. G., … Yorke, H. W. (2003). The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap. Astrobiology, 3(2), 219–235. doi:10.1089/153110703769016299

    See Project See Project See Project

  • Des Marais, D. J., Nuth, J. A., Allamandola, L. J., Boss, A. P., Farmer, J. D., Hoehler, T. M., … Spormann, A. M. (2008). The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap. Astrobiology, 8(4), 715–730. doi:10.1089/ast.2008.0819

    See Project

  • Pohorille, A. (2012). Processes that Drove the Transition from Chemistry to Biology: Concepts and Evidence. Orig Life Evol Biosph, 42(5), 429–432. doi:10.1007/s11084-012-9304-3

    See Project See Project

  • Pohorille, A., & Deamer, D. (2009). Self-assembly and function of primitive cell membranes. Research in Microbiology, 160(7), 449–456. doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2009.06.004

    See Project

  • Pohorille, A., & Pratt, L. R. (2012). Is Water the Universal Solvent for Life?. Orig Life Evol Biosph, 42(5), 405–409. doi:10.1007/s11084-012-9301-6

    See Project See Project

  • Pohorille, A., Jarzynski, C., & Chipot, C. (2010). Good Practices in Free-Energy Calculations. J. Phys. Chem. B, 114(32), 10235–10253. doi:10.1021/jp102971x

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  • Wei, C., & Pohorille, A. (2009). Permeation of Membranes by Ribose and Its Diastereomers. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131(29), 10237–10245. doi:10.1021/ja902531k

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  • Wei, C., & Pohorille, A. (2011). Permeation of Nucleosides through Lipid Bilayers. J. Phys. Chem. B, 115(13), 3681–3688. doi:10.1021/jp112104r

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  • Wei, C., & Pohorille, A. (2013). Permeation of Aldopentoses and Nucleosides Through Fatty Acid and Phospholipid Membranes: Implications to the Origins of Life. Astrobiology, 13(2), 177–188. doi:10.1089/ast.2012.0901

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  • Wilson, M. A., Wei, C., Bjelkmar, P., Wallace, B. A., & Pohorille, A. (2011). Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Antiamoebin Ion Channel: Linking Structure and Conductance. Biophysical Journal, 100(10), 2394–2402. doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2011.03.054

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  • Hoehler, T.M. & Pohorille, A.  (2011).  The importance of water for high fidelity information processing and for life. [Invited] EOS Trans. AGU, 92(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., P24B-02. See Project
  • Pohorille, A.  (2009, to be published).  Contingency vs. determinism in the origin of life.  Orig. Life Evol. Biosphere. See Project
  • Pohorille, A.  (2009, to be published).  Emerging properties in the origins of life and Darwinian evolution.  Orig. Life Evol. Biosphere. See Project
  • Pohorille, A.  (2010).  Emerging properties in the origins of life and Darwinian evolution.  Orig. Life Evol. Biosphere, 40: 384-386. See Project
  • Pohorille, A.  (2010).  Was the Emergence of Life on Earth a Likely Outcome of Chemical Evolution?  Orig. Life Evol. Biosphere, 40: 362-365. See Project
  • Pohorille, A.  (2012, In Press).  A few comments on Dynamic Kinetic Stability.  Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere. See Project
  • Pohorille, A., Wilson, M.A. & Wei, C.  (2009, in press).  The Earliest Ion Channels.  Bioastronomy. See Project
  • Pohorille, A., Wilson, M.A. & Wei, C.  (2009, in press).  The Earliest Ion Channels.  In: Meech, K., Keane, J., Mumma, M., Siefert, J. & Werthimer, D. (Eds.).  Proceedings of the Bioastronomy 2007 Conference.  Astronomical Society of the Pacific. See Project
  • View all 18 publications

Past NAI Teams