Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies science image
Torrey Pines Institute for
Molecular Studies

5775 N. Old Dixie Highway
Fort Pierce, FL 34946-7302
USA

Scientists
Photo by M. Lynn
Karina Martinez Mayorga
Assistant Member
Conformational analysis

772.462.0892 - phone
772.462.0886 - fax

Dr. Karina Martinez-Mayorga earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1997 and a Ph.D. in 2005 with Professor Gabriel Cuevas, both from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. During her doctoral studies, she participated in research visits with Professor Jesus Jimenez-Barbero in Madrid, Spain and instructed in the School of Chemistry at UNAM and La Salle University. In February 2005, Dr. Martinez-Mayorga joined the group of Professor Michael F. Brown at the University of Arizona as a postdoctoral fellow, conducting experimental and computational research on membrane proteins and membrane lipids in collaboration with groups at Wabash Collage, Indiana, IBM TJ Watson Research Center, New York, and recently with the University of California at Santa Cruz and Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany. In August 2007, she joined the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Florida as Assistant Member.

Research Focus

Dr. Martinez-Mayorga specializes in conformational analysis using molecular modeling and spectroscopic techniques with special interest in compounds with potential activity against human diseases.

Honors and Awards

  • Antonio Caso Medal postulate for Ph.D. studies. National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2005.
  • Science and Technology National Council Fellowship at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Ph.D. studies, 2001-2004.
  • Outstanding Teacher, La Salle University, 2004.
  • Science and Technology National Council Fellowship at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, M.Sc. studies, 1998-2000.
  • Postgraduate Studies Fellow at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2003.

Professional Societies

  • Mexican Chemical Society
  • Biophysical Society
  • American Chemical Society
  • Member of the National Researcher System, National Council of Science and Technology, Mexico, (SNI-CONACyT), Mexico, since January 2006.

Publications

  1. Katsunori Tanaka, Andrey V. Struts, Sonja Krane, Naoko Fujioka, Constantin Job, Gilmar F. J. Salgado, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Michael F. Brown, and Koji Nakanishi. "Synthesis of CD3-labeled 11-cis-Retinals and Application to Solid-State Deuterium NMR Spectroscopy of Rhodopsin" Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan. In press.
  2. Jose L. Medina-Franco, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Cecilia Juárez-Gordiano, Rafael Castillo. "Pyridin-2(1H)-ones: A Promising Class of Non-nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors" ChemMedChem, 2007, 2, 1141-1147.
  3. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Michael C. Pitman, Alan Groessfield, Scott E. Feller, Michael F. Brown. "Retinal Counterion Switch Mechanism in Vision Evaluated by Molecular Simulations" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 16502-16503.
  4. Gabriel Cuevas, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Maria del Carmen Fernández-Alonso, Jesús Jiménez-Barbero, Charles L Perrin, Eusebio Juaristi, Néstor López-Mora. "The Origin of One-Bond C-H Coupling Constants in OCH Fragments: Not Primarily nO CH Delocalization" Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed. Engl. 2005, 44, 2360-2364.
  5. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Eusebio Juaristi, and Gabriel Cuevas. "Manifestation of Steroelectronic Effects on the Calculated Carbon-Hydrogen Bond Lengths and One Bond 1JC-H NMR Coupling Constants. Relative Acceptor Ability of the Carbonyl Group (C=O), Thiocarbonil (C=S), and Methyleden (C=CH2) Groups Towards C-H Donor Bonds" Journal of Organic Chemistry 2004, 69, 7266-7276.
  6. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, José L. Medina-Franco, Silvia Mari, F. Javier Cañada, Eliazar Rodríguez-García, Pierre Vogel, Hongqin Li, Yves Bleriot, Pierre Sinaÿ and Jesús Jiménez-Barbero. "The conformational behavior of novel glycosidase inhibitors with substituted azepan structures. A NMR and modeling study" European Journal of Organic Chemistry 2004, 4119-4129.
  7. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Fernando Cortes, Ingrid Leal, Vanessa Reyna, Delia Quintana, Sandra Antúnez, Gabriel Cuevas. "Toward the Origin of the Conformational Preference of 2-methoxyoxane, a Model Useful to Study the Anomeric Effect" ARKIVOC 2003, 132-148.

Presentations

  1. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Alan Grossfield, José L. Medina-Franco, Michael C. Pitman, Scout E. Feller, Michael F. Brown. "Retinal Relaxation in Rhodopsin Activation Viewed by Large-Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations" 52nd Biophysical Society Meeting & 16th International Biophysics Congress, Long Beach CA, USA February 2-6, 2008.
  2. James W. Lewis, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Istvan Szundi, Jaqueline Epps, Victor U. Constantino, David S. Kliger, Michael F. Brown. "Influence of Lipid Membrane Composition on the Kinetics of Rhodopsin Activation by Time-Resolved UV-Visible Spectroscopy" 52nd Biophysical Society Meeting & 16th International Biophysics Congress, Long Beach CA, USA February 2-6, 2008.
  3. Reiner Vogel, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Mohana Mahalingam, Victor U. Constantino, Michael F. Brown. "Activation of Rhodopsin at Physiological Temperatures: Structural and Thermodynamic Characterization of the Two Protonation Switches" 52nd Biophysical Society Meeting & 16th International Biophysics Congress, Long Beach CA, USA February 2-6, 2008.
  4. Reiner Vogel, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Mohana Mahalingam, Victor U. Constantino, Michael F. Brown. "Membrane Lipid Modification of Rhodopsin Activation Studied by FTIR Spectroscopy" 52nd Biophysical Society Meeting & 16th International Biophysics Congress, Long Beach CA, USA February 2-6, 2008.
  5. Andrey V. Struts, Filmar F. J. Salgado, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Aviador Leftin, Constantine Job, Michael F. Brown. "Site-Directed 2H NMR Reveals Functional Dynamics of Retinal due to Light Activation of Rhodopsin" 52nd Biophysical Society Meeting & 16th International Biophysics Congress, Long Beach CA, USA February 2-6, 2008.
  6. Pick-Wei Lau, Alan Grossfield, Scott E. Feller, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Andrey V. Struts, Michael C. Pitman, Michael F. Brown. "Molecular Dynamics Simulations Unveil Dynamic Flexibility of Retinal within Binding Pocket of Rhodopsin" 52nd Biophysical Society Meeting & 16th International Biophysics Congress, Long Beach CA, USA February 2-6, 2008.
  7. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Michael C. Pitman, Alan Grossfield, Scott E. Feller, Michael F. Brown. "Visual Receptor Activation Evaluated by Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Solid State 2H NMR" Spectroscopy 51st Biophysical Society Meeting, Baltimore, MD, USA February 3-7, 2007.
  8. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, José L. Medina-Franco. "Multidisciplinary Point of View of Science" IV Meeting: Participation of Women in Science, Guanajuato, Mexico, May 24, 2007.
  9. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Michael C. Pitman, Alan Grossfield, Scott E. Feller, Michael F. Brown. "Rhodopsin Activation Studied by Microsecond-Time Scale Molecular Dynamic Simulations" 19th Rocky Mountain Regional American Chemical Society Meeting, Tucson AZ, USA October 17, 2006.
  10. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Michael C. Pitman, Alan Grossfield, Scott E. Feller. "Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Light Activation of Rhodopsin" 50th Biophysical Society Meeting, Salt Lake City Utah, USA February 2006.
  11. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, "1JC-H Coupling Constants as Index of Steroelectronic Effect Participation" Institute of Chemistry Seminar UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico, October 22, 2004.
  12. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Maria del Carmen Fernández-Alonso, Charles L Perrin, Jesús Jiménez-Barbero, Eusebio Juaristi, Gabriel Cuevas. "One-bond CH Coupling Constants in OCH Fragments are not due to n→ï³* delocalization" Fifth International Symposia, Tijuana B. C. Mexico September 29-30 and October 1, 2004.
  13. Eusebio Juaristi, Gabriel Cuevas, Karina Martínez-Mayorga. "Manifestations of Stereoelectronic Interactions in C-13/H-1 Bond Coupling Constants" 17th International Conference on Organic Synthesis, Shanghai China, August 15-20, 2004.
  14. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Néstor F. López-Mora, María del Carmen Fernández-Alonso, Charles L. Perrin, Jesús Jiménez-Barbero, Eusebio Juaristi, Gabriel Cuevas. "One-bond CH Coupling Constants in OCH Fragments are not Due to n- Delocalization" First Meeting of the National Academy of Organic Chemistry. Tlaxcala, Mexico, December 2, 3, 2004.
  15. Martha Aguilar-Martínez , Cuauhtemoc Campos-Calderón, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Norma A. Macías-Ruvalcaba. "Synthesis and Effect of the Substituents in the Electrochemical Reduction of N-3-diphenyl-2-(E)-propenamides in Aprotic Media" XIV Iberoamerican Electrochemical Society Meeting, Oaxaca, Oax, Mexico May 2000.
  16. Andrey V. Struts, Gilmar F. J. Salgado, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Constantin Job, Katsunori Tanaka, Sonja Krane, Koji Nakanishi, Michael F. Brown. "2H NMR Relaxation and Dynamics of Retinal Cofactor in Dark, Meta I, and Meta II States of Rhodopsin" 51st Biophysical Society Meeting, Baltimore MD, USA February 3-7, 2007.
  17. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Martha Aguilar-Martínez, Norma Macías-Ruvalcaba Lino J Reyes-Trejo. "Synthesis of Putative Herbicides and Effect of the Substituents in its Electrochemical Reduction" American Chemical Society 232nd National Meeting, San Francisco CA USA, September 10-14, 2006.
  18. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, José L. Medina-Franco, Silvia Mari, F. Javier Cañada, Eliazar Rodríguez-García, Pierre Vogel, Hongqin Li, Yves Bleriot, Pierre Sinaÿ and Jesús Jiménez-Barbero. "Conformational Study of Monosacharide Analogues with 1H NMR, NOE experiments and Molecular Dynamics" American Chemical Society 228th National Meeting, Philadelphia PA USA, August 22-26, 2004.
  19. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Gabriel Cuevas. "Are the Changes of One-Bond 1JC-H Coupling Constatns a Real Index of Stereoelectronic Manifestation?" Internal Symposia Institute of Chemistry-UNAM, March 8-11, 2004.
  20. Guillermo Roura Pérez, Gabriel Cuevas, Karina Martínez-Mayorga. "Computational Evaluation of the 1JC-H Coupling Constants in Ketones" XXXIX Mexican Chemical Society Meeting, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico October 3-7, 2004.
  21. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, José L. Medina-Franco, Silvia Mari, F. Javier Cañada, Eliazar Rodríguez-García, Pierre Vogel, Hongqin Li, Yves Bleriot, Pierre Sinaÿ and Jesús Jiménez-Barbero. Small Molecule NMR Conference, SMASH, Verona Italy September 14-17, 2003.
  22. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Gabriel Cuevas, Eusebio Juaristi. "Stereoelectronic Effects Manifestation in 1JC-H Coupling Constants and C-H Distances in Cyclohexanone, Thiocyclohexanone, Lactone and Thiolactone Derivatives" First Meeting of the NMR Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry of Spain, Calella Barcelona, Spain, October 20-23, 2002.
  23. Karina Martínez-Mayorga, M.C. Isabel Chavez-Uribe, Gabriel Cuevas. "Participation of Stereoelectronic Effects in the Grob Fragmentation Towards 1JC-C Coupling Constants" XXV Latin-American Chemistry Meeting, Cancun Quintana Roo, Mexico, September 22-26, 2002.
  24. Gabriel Cuevas, Karina Martínez-Mayorga, Fernando Cortes, Alberto Vela. Computacional Study of the Conformational Preferences of 2-methoxyoxane. XXXVI Mexican Chemical Society Meeting, Ixtapa Guerrero, Mexico, September 9-13, 2001.

Attended Courses

  • Exploring 3D Molecular Structures Using NCBI Tools, Arizona Research Laboratories Division of Biotechnology, Tucson, AZ, July 26, 2005.
  • Hands-On Workshop on Computational Biophysics, Tahoe City, CA, May 23-27, 2005.
  • Topics in Advanced Stereochemistry and An Introduction to Solid-State NMR , Institute of Chemistry, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico, February 2-6, 2004.
  • NMR in Chemistry Biology and Medicine, San Lorenzo del Escorial, Spain, September 1-5, 2003.
  • Mono and Bidimentional NMR Interpretation, Institute of Chemistry, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico, February 24-28, 2003.
  • Introduction to UNIX Operative System, DGSCA-UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico, August 20 - September 7, 2001.
  • Heterocycle Chemistry, UNAM-IPN, Mexico City, Mexico, 2001.