Vlad Kumirov

Assistant Professor of Practice

Assistant Staff Scientist, NMR Facility

Degrees and Appointments 

  • Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Arizona, 2016
  • B.S. Chemistry, University of Arizona, 2010

Research Description

I work at the NMR facility and teach NMR spectroscopy. My background is in protein NMR (10-50 kDa), but most of my current work is with small molecules and peptides (under 5 kDa). I am interested in molecular structure and dynamics, which can be studied by NMR spectroscopy. I frequently collaborate with different research labs to develop NMR methods that measure molecular tumbling and diffusion, as well as intermolecular interactions. These experiments are useful in predicting size and flexibility of polymers, or determining whether drugs bind tightly to their targets. I teach classes and workshops on NMR spectroscopy, and usually work with 1-2 undergraduates each year on NMR related research projects. I also design NMR lab modules for classes that incorporate modern research methods utilizing NMR spectroscopy.

Specialties: NMR spectroscopy, chemical education, peptides and proteins

Teaching Activities

CHEM 447 – Organic structure and NMR spectroscopy for undergraduates

We cover NMR data interpretation and structure in the first half of the semester (1H NMR, 13C NMR, chemical shift, J-coupling, HSQC, HMBC, COSY, NOESY). The second half of the semester is NMR applications (pulse sequences, T1 and T2 relaxation, chemical exchange, kinetics, diffusion, saturation transfer). Lab sessions are spent at the NMR facility and discussing data with peers. Heavy emphasis on presentation and communication of results to peers, including how to make high quality figures.

CHEM 545 – Lab skills and NMR spectroscopy for graduates

A significant portion of the class is dedicated to NMR spectroscopy and interpretation of 1D and 2D NMR data to determine structure, conformation, stereochemistry, and purity. Heavy emphasis on using modern 2D NMR approach, where high-resolution HSQC, HMBC, COSY and NOESY spectra can all be acquired in less than 1 hour using automation and non-uniform sampling methods at our facility.

  1. Koss, K. M., Sereda, T. J., Kumirov, V. K., & Wertheim, J. A. (2023). A class of peptides designed to replicate and enhance the Receptor for Hyaluronic Acid Mediated Motility binding domain. Acta Biomaterialia.
  2. Szabó, L., Tanguturi, P., Goodman, H., Sprőber, S., Liu, C., Al-Obeidi, F., Bartlett, M., Falk, T., Kumirov, V., Heien, M.L., Streicher, J., and Polt, R. (2023) ACS Med Chem Lett. DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.2c00455
  3. Ambrose, A., Sivinski, J., Zerio, C., Zhu, X., Godek, J., Kumirov, V., Brujas, T., Garcia, J., Annadurai, A., Schmidlin, C., Werner, A., Shi, T., Zavareh, R., Lairson, L., Zhang, D., and Chapman, E. (2023) J Med Chem 66 (1), 677-694. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01631
  4. Kang, K., Olikagu, C., Lee, T., Bao, J., Molineux, J., Holmen, L., Martin, P., Kim, K., Kim, K., Bang, J., Kumirov, V., Glass, R., Norwood, R., Njardarson, J. and Pyun, J. (2022) Sulfenyl Chlorides: An Alternative Monomer Feedstock from Elemental Sulfur for Polymer Synthesis, JACS 144 (50), 23044-23052. doi: 10.1021/jacs.2c10317
  5. Lauta, N., Williams, R; Smith, D; Kumirov, V; Njardarson, J (2021) Oxidative Route to Indoles via Intramolecular Amino-Hydroxylation of ortho-Allenyl Anilines, JOC, 86, 15, 10713-10723, 10.1021/acs.joc.1c01379
  6. Scott, D.D., Francois-Moutal, L., Kumirov, V.K., Khanna, M. (2019) 1H, 15N and 13C backbone assignment of apo TDP-43 RNA recognition motifs. Biomol NMR Assign. doi: 10.1007/s12104-018-09870-x
  7. Sgourakis, N., McShan, A., Natarajan, K., Jiang, J., Park, Overall, S., Toor, J., Kumirov, V., Flores-Solis, D., Badstubner, M., Kovrigin, E., Bagshaw, C., Pallesen, J., Procko, E., Margulies D. (2019) Getting in the groove: Editing of MHC-I antigen repertoires by molecular chaperones is governed by a network of protein dynamics. J Immunol 1, 202 (1_Supplement): 177.31. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.202.Supp.177.31
  8. Kumirov, V. K., Dykstra, E. M., Hall, B. M., Anderson, W. J., Szyszka, T. N. and Cordes, M. H. (2018) Multistep mutational transformation of a protein fold through structural intermediates. Protein Science. Accepted Author Manuscript. doi: 10.1002/pro.3488
  9. Sgourakis, N., McShan, A. C., Natarajan, K., Kumirov, V. K., Flores-Solis, D., Jiang, J., Badstuebner, M., Kovrigin, E. L., Margulies, D. H. (2018) Chaperone-assisted peptide exchange on MHC-I is driven by a negative allostery release cycle: Implications for a role of peptide-editing Molecular Chaperones in scrutinizing the peptide repertoire, J Immunol, 200 (1 Supplement): 99.23. 
  10. McShan, A. C., Natarajan, K., Kumirov, V. K., Flores-Solis, D., Jiang, J., Badstübner, M., Toor, J. S., Bagshaw, C. R., Kovrigin, E. L., Margulies, D. H., Sgourakis, N. G. (2018) Peptide exchange on MHC-I by TAPBPR is driven by a negative allostery release cycle, Nature Chemical Biology, 14: 811-820, doi: 10.1038/s41589-018-0096-2
  11. Natarajan, K., McShan, A. C., Jiang, J., Kumirov, V. K., Wang, R., Zhao, H., Schuck, P., Tilahun, M. E., Boyd, L. F., Ying, J., Bax, A., Margulies, D. H., Sgourakis, N. G. (2017) An allosteric site in the T-cell receptor Cβ domain plays a critical signalling role. Nature Communications, 8. doi: 10.1038/ncomms15260
  12. Bungard, D., Copple, J. S., Yan, J., Chhun, J. J., Kumirov, V. K., Foy, S. G., Masel, J., Wysocki, V. H., Cordes, M. H. J. (2017) Foldability of a Natural De Novo Evolved Protein, Structure, 25: 1687-1696.e4, doi: 10.1016/j.str.2017.09.006
  13. Vardanyan, R. S., Cain, J. P., Haghighi, S. M., Kumirov, V. K., McIntosh, M. I., Sandweiss, A. J., Porreca, F., and Hruby, V. J. (2017) Synthesis and Investigation of Mixed μ‐Opioid and δ‐Opioid Agonists as Possible Bivalent Ligands for Treatment of Pain. J. Heterocyclic Chem., 54: 1228–1235. doi: 10.1002/jhet.2696.
  14. Eaton, K. V., Anderson, W. J., Dubrava, M. S., Kumirov, V. K., Dykstra, E. M., Cordes, M. H. J. (2015) Studying protein fold evolution with hybrids of differently folded homologs. Protein Engineering, Design and Selection, 28: 241-250. doi: 10.1093/protein/gzv027 

  15. Lajoie, D. M., Zobel-Thropp, P. A., Kumirov, V. K., Bandarian, V., Binford, G. J., Cordes, M. H. J. (2013) Phospholipase D Toxins of Brown Spider Venom Convert Lysophosphatidylcholine and Sphingomyelin to Cyclic Phosphates. PLoS ONE, 8: e72372. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072372
  16. Podolsky, A. T., Sandweiss, A., Hu, J., Bilsky, E. J., Cain, J. P., Kumirov, V. K., Lee, Y. S., Hruby, V. J., Vardanyan, R. S., Vanderah, T. W. (2013) Novel fentanyl-based dual μ/δ-opioid agonists for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Life Sciences, 93: 1010–1016. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2013.09.016
  17. Vardanyan, R., Kumirov, V. K., Nichol, G. S., Davis, P., Liktor-Busa, E., Rankin, D., Varga, E., Vanderah, T., Porreca, F., Lai, J., Hruby, V. J. (2011) Synthesis and biological evaluation of new opioid agonist and neurokinin-1 antagonist bivalent ligands. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 19: 6135–6142. DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2011.08.027
  18. Vardanyan, R., Kumirov, V. K., Hruby, V. J. (2011) Improved synthesis of D,L-fluorocitric acid. Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 132: 920–924. doi: 10.1016/j.jfluchem.2011.07.006
  19. Nichol, G. S., Kumirov, Vlad K., Vardanyan, R, Hruby, V. J. (2010) Proton sharing and transfer in some zwitterionic compounds based on 4-oxo-4-((1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)(phenyl)amino)alcanoic acids, CrystEngComm, 12: 3651-3657. doi: 10.1039/B923698H
  20. Liu, Z., Qu, H., Gu, X., Lee, K., Grossman, B., Kumirov, V. K., Hruby, V. J. (2010) Novel anti-β-functionalized γ,δ-unsaturated amino acids via a thio–Claisen rearrangement. Tetrahedron Letters, 51: 3518-3520, doi: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2010.04.102