Ricky B. Nellas, PhD
Physical Chemistry
Professor
Executive Director, UP Intelligent Systems Center (ISC)
Email: rbnellas@up.edu.ph
Office Room and Phone No.: T337, Local 3663
Lab Room and Phone No.: R213-214, Local 3674
Research Laboratory: Good ViBEs (Virtual Biochemical Explorations) Laboratory
Education & Background
| Undergraduate | BS Chemistry, UP Los Baños, 1999 |
| Graduate | PhD Chemistry, Louisiana State University, 2010 |
| Postdoctoral Training | Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Tennessee Knoxville/ORNL, 2010-2013 |
| Previous Employment & Appointments | Associate Dean for Research, Innovation, Development and Enterprise (ADRIDE), College of Science, UP Diliman, 2019-2023 Instructor, Institute of Chemistry, UP Los Baños, 2002-2004 Science and Math Teacher, Holy Cross High School, Dumaguete City, 1999-2002 |
Teaching
| Chemistry 153: Physical Chemistry: Foundations of Chemical Thermodynamics |
| Chemistry 154: Physical Chemistry of Real Systems |
| Chem 295: Seminar in Physical Chemistry |
| Chemistry 359: Special Topics in Physical Chemistry |
| Chem 395: Research Seminar in Physical Chemistry |
Research
Research Focus
Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
- Multicomponent atmospheric nucleation
- Aggregation of biomolecular and supramolecular systems of medical relevance
- Complex solvation in advance material design and protein engineering
- Simulations of alien atmospheric and biochemical systems
- Bioenergy-related projects: Degradation of cellulosic materials
- Force-field development
- Computer-aided drug design
Selected Publications
(1) R. Salas, P.M.J. Sabido, R.B. Nellas. Interpretable Ensemble Classifiers for Reliable Prediction of Antibacterial Activities of Peptides Against Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus. SSRN 2024, 4736138. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4736138
(2) R.L. Cheng, J.C. Quirante, L.E.Z. Vargas, A.F. Gatchalian, R.B. Nellas. Complementary Pocket and Network-Based Approach to Search for Spike Protein Allosteric Pocket Site. ACS Omega 2023, 8, 45313-45325. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c04007
(3) J.T. Gaza, R.B. Nellas. Reparameterization of Non-Bonded Parameters for Copper Ions in Plastocyanin: An Adaptive Force Matching Study. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling 2023, 63, 4654-4663. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00559
(4) J.J.D. Lopez, J.T. Gaza, R.B. Nellas. The role of glycerol–water mixtures in the stability of FKBP12-rapalog-FRB complexes. Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling 2023, 124, 108556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmgm.2023.108556
(5) R.L. De Velez, J.T. Gaza, R.B. Nellas. Activation mechanism of the M5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. Biophysical Journal 2023,122, 446a. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2022.11.2406
Awards & Extension Work
| UP Science Productivity System (SPS) Award 2022-2024, 2019-2021: Scientist I |
| UP Professorial Chairs, Faculty Grants, and IPAs 2022-2024, 2019-2021: One UP Faculty Grant Award 2022, 2016-2019: UP Diliman Centennial Faculty Grant 2021: PHINMA Faculty Grant (UP Diliman) 2020, 2019: Antonio & Paz De Leon Professorial Chair Award for Excellence in Chemistry (UP Diliman) 2015-2024: UP International Publication Award |
| Awards of Thesis Advisees 2020: Leticia Shahani Award for Best Undergraduate Thesis in Chemistry – James Peter L. Lim (BS Chemistry) 2017: Leticia Shahani Award for Best Undergraduate Thesis in Chemistry – Adam Jo J. Elatico (BS Chemistry) 2018: Best Student Paper Award, NAMD Benchmarking on Publicly Available Philippine Computational Resources, Presentor: Ronny L. Cheng |
| Extension Work 2023-2024: Senior Faculty Adviser, UP ChemSoc Board Member, Kapisanang Kimika ng Pilipinas, Inc. |