Dr. Ryan Limbocker, PhD Assistant Professor Director - Center for Molecular Science Chemistry & Life Science Center for Molecular Science ryan.limbocker [at] westpoint.edu About Education Research & Publications Ryan Limbocker is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Life Science. Dr. Limbocker graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Kansas with Highest Distinction, University Honors, and Departmental Honors. He attended graduate school at the University of Cambridge in the Centre for Misfolding Diseases and conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University. Alongside teaching and researching Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injuries, biological threat agents, and chemical threat agents, Dr. Limbocker serves as the Director for the Center for Molecular Science, is an OR for the Army Women’s Tennis team, and is the CLS Scholarships Representative. He enjoys helping all cadets consider, plan, and execute applications for technical, national, and international scholarships and prepare for medical school. Limbocker lab cadets have earned the Goldwater Scholarship (Ryan Kreiser, 2021; Aidan Wright, 2022; Justus Gabriel, 2023), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (Ryan Kreiser, 2022), Stamps Scholarship (Ryan Kreiser, 2020; Aidan Wright, 2020; Tristan McKenzie, 2021; Sophie Cohen, 2021; Justus Gabriel, 2022; Michael Nguyen, 2023; Supria Shroff, 2023; Johnathan Pinc, 2023), matriculation to Medical School (Alex Albright, Brown, 2020; Aidan Wright, Dartmouth, 2023; Liam Sasser, Cornell, 2023; Abigail Graham, Columbia, 2023; Caleb Buettner, Johns Hopkins, 2024; Sophie Cohen, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2024; Justus Gabriel, Yale, 2024; Tristan McKenzie, Uniformed Services University, 2024; Martin Park, Oregon Health Sciences University, 2024), and matriculation to graduate school (Ryan Kreiser, Purdue, 2022; Thomas Tan, Purdue, 2024). Dr. Limbocker is the recipient of the following: Goldwater Scholarship (2014), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2015), St. John’s College Cambridge Benefactors’ Scholarship (2015-2018), Gates Cambridge Scholarship (2015-2018), Department of the Army Civilian Service Achievement Medal for teaching (2020), USMA faculty Development Research Fund grant (2020), Defense Threat Reduction Agency SARI grants (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), DEVCOM Army Research Labs grants (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), Dean’s Award for Scholarship Excellence (2022). Ph.D. in Chemistry - University of Cambridge B.S. in Chemistry (Honors and Highest Distinction) - University of Kansas Current Research The Limbocker research group focuses on understanding the etiology of protein misfolding diseases with emphasis on the pathological consequences of protein aggregation. By integrating in vitro biophysical methods with cellular models of toxicity, we aim to understand and target the principles that drive toxicity in Alzheimer's and similar neurodegenerative disorders. Our team also actively investigates the efficacy of medical countermeasures to protect Soldiers from traumatic brain injuries, biological threat agents, and chemical threat agents. Selected Publications Bigi, A., Limbocker, R., Cecchi, C. Editorial: Promising therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer's disease: A focus on amyloid-β targeting. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2024, 18:1415641, 1-2, DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1415641Chia, S., Cataldi, R.L., Ruggeri, F.S., Limbocker, R., Condado-Morales, I., Pisani, K., Possenti, A., Linse, S., Knowles, T.P.J., Habchi, J., Mannini, B., Vendruscolo, M. A relationship between structure and neurotoxic effect of Aβ oligomers stabilized by metal ions. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 2024, 15, 6, 1125-1134, DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00718Rinauro, D.J., Chiti, F., Vendruscolo, M., Limbocker, R.* Misfolded protein oligomers: Mechanisms of formation, cytotoxic effects, and pharmacological approaches against protein misfolding diseases. Molecular Neurodegeneration. 2024, 19, 20, 1-32, DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00651-2Limbocker, R., Cremades, N., Cascella, R., Tessier, P., Vendruscolo, M., Chiti, F. Pairs of toxic and nontoxic misfolded protein oligomers elucidate the structural determinants of toxicity in protein misfolding diseases. Accounts of Chemical Research. 2023, 56, 12, 1395-1405, DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.3c00045. Featured on the journal cover.Gabriel, J.M.†, Tan, T.†, Rinauro, D.J., Hsu, C.M.†, Buettner, C.J.†, Gilmer, M.†, Kaur, A.†, McKenzie, T.L.†, Park, M.†, Cohen, S.†, Errico, S., Chiti, F., Vendruscolo, M., Limbocker, R.* EGCG inactivates a pore-forming toxin by promoting its oligomerization and decreasing its solvent-exposed hydrophobicity. Chemico-Biological Interactions. 2023, 371, 110307, 1-10, DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2022.110307Joshi, P., Chia, S., Yang, X., Perni, M., Gabriel, J.M.†, Gilmer, M.†, Limbocker, R., Habchi, J., Vendruscolo, M. Vitamin A and E metabolites comodulate amyloid-β aggregation. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 2023, 14, 4, 657-666, DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00523Errico, S., Lucchesi, G., Odino, D., Osman, E.Y., Casecella, R., Neri, L., Bemporad, F., Cecchi, C., Barbut, D., Relini, A., Canale, C., Caminati, C., Limbocker, R., Vendruscolo, M., Zasloff, M., Chiti, F. A global fitting analytical approach to attribute quantitatively the protective biological effect of aminosterols to their chemical moieties and physicochemical perturbations of biological membranes. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2023, 66, 14, 9519-9536, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00182Limbocker, R., Errico, S., Knowles, T.P.J., Vendruscolo, M., Barbut, D., Chiti, F., Zasloff, M. Squalamine and trodusquemine, two natural products for neurodegenerative diseases: From physical chemistry to the clinic. Natural Product Reports. 2022, 39, 742-753, DOI: 10.1039/D1NP00042J. Featured on the journal cover.Kreiser, R.P.†, Wright, A.K.†, Sasser, L.R.†, Rinauro, D.J., Gabriel, J.M.†, Hsu, C.M.†, Hurtado, J.A.†, McKenzie, T.†, Albright, J.A., Richardson, L., Jaffett, V.A., Riegner, D.E., LeForte, K., Nguyen, L.T., Hollows, J.E., Vendruscolo, M., Limbocker, R.* A brain permeable aminosterol regulates cell membranes to mitigate the toxicity of diverse pore-forming agents. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 2022, 13, 8, 1219-1231, DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00840Kreiser, R.P.†, Wright, A.K.†, McKenzie, T.L.†, Albright, J.A.†, Mowles, E.D., Hollows, J.E., Limbocker, S., Eslinger, M., Limbocker, R.*, Nguyen, L.T. Utilization of standardized college entrance metrics to predict and promote undergraduate student success in chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education. 2022, 99, 4, 1725-1733, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00719