Jimmy Orjala
Professor, College of Pharmacy
Director of Graduate Studies for Pharmacognosy graduate program, College of Pharmacy - Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Head for Research, University of Illinois at Chicago
Contact
Address:
900 South Ashland Avenue, Chicago, IL
Office Phone:
Email:
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About
Research Interests:
1. Discovery, isolation, and structure elucidation of biological active metabolites from cultured cyanobacteria.
2. Application of sensitive analytical techniques to the structure elucidation and biological characterization of natural products.
Teaching and Supervision
PSCI 521 Structure Elucidation Nat Prod (PSCI 521), 1/13/2025 – 5/2/2029
PSCI Ph.D. Thesis Research (PSCI 599), 8/26/2024 – 12/6/2024
PSCI Ph.D. Thesis Research (PSCI 599), 6/10/2024 – 8/2/2024
PSCI Ph.D. Thesis Research (PSCI 599), 1/8/2024 – 4/26/2024
PSCI Ph.D. Thesis Research (PSCI 599), 8/21/2023 – 12/1/2023
Doctoral Research in Pharmacog (PMPG 599), 1/9/2023 – 4/28/2023
Doctoral Research in Pharmacog (PMPG 599), 8/22/2022 – 12/2/2022
PSCI 531 Spectroscopy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSCI 531), 8/22/2022 – 12/2/2022
PSCI Ph.D. Thesis Research (PSCI 599), 8/22/2022 – 12/2/2022
Selected Grants
★ Research Training in Natural Product Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)., 8/1/2024 - 7/31/2029, Obligated Amount: $253764; Anticipated Amount: $1217204
Gut Bacterial O-demethylation, Purdue University., 9/1/2022 - 8/31/2024, Obligated Amount: $48048; Anticipated Amount: $48048
Pregnane X receptor (PXR)-activating gut bacterial metabolites, Purdue University., 4/8/2022 - 3/31/2025, Obligated Amount: $110428; Anticipated Amount: $110428
★ Discovery of Anticancer Agents of Diverse Natural Origin, Ohio State University., 5/15/2020 - 4/30/2025, Obligated Amount: $1654949; Anticipated Amount: $1654949
Role of a conserved gene cluster family in promoting motility behavior in proteobacteria and in mediating host interactions, National Science Foundation., 8/15/2019 - 7/31/2024, Obligated Amount: $546571; Anticipated Amount: $546571
Research Training in Natural Product Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)., 1/1/2019 - 7/31/2024, Obligated Amount: $1317731; Anticipated Amount: $2100520
Selected Publications
Davis, Lydia J, Krunić, Aleksej, Alexander, Kelsey, Khin, Manead, Wood, Jared S, Earp, Cody, Rangel-Grimaldo, Manuel, Eustáquio, Alessandra S, Burdette, Joanna E, Williamson, R Thomas, Oberlies, Nicholas H, Orjala, Jimmy. (2025). Menominin A and B: Cytotoxic Cyclodepsipeptides from the Freshwater Sponge-Associated Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. UIC 10607. Journal of Natural Products, 88, (3), 732-746. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c01445.
Weiss, Márcio B, Borges, Ricardo M, Sullivan, Peter, Domingues, João PB, da Silva, Francisco HS, Trindade, Victória GS, Luo, Shangwen, Orjala, Jimmy, Crnkovic, Camila M. (2025). Chemical diversity of cyanobacterial natural products. Natural Product Reports, 42, (1), 6-49. doi:10.1039/d4np00040d.
Khin, Manead, Davis, Lydia J, Lantvit, Daniel D, Orjala, Jimmy, Burdette, Joanna E. (2024). Aulosirazole Stimulates FOXO3a Nuclear Translocation to Regulate Apoptosis and Cell-Cycle Progression in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC) Cells. Molecular Pharmacology, 106, (3), 145-154. doi:10.1124/molpharm.124.000921.
Aldrich, Leslie N, Burdette, Joanna E, de Blanco, Esperanza Carcache, Coss, Christopher C, Eustaquio, Alessandra S, Fuchs, James R, Kinghorn, A Douglas, MacFarlane, Amanda, Mize, Brittney K, Oberlies, Nicholas H, Orjala, Jimmy, Pearce, Cedric J, Phelps, Mitch A, Rakotondraibe, Liva Harinantenaina, Ren, Yulin, Soejarto, Djaja Doel, Stockwell, Brent R, Yalowich, Jack C, Zhang, Xiaoli. (2022). Discovery of Anticancer Agents of Diverse Natural Origin. Journal of Natural Products, 85, (3), 702-719. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.2c00036.
Davis, Lydia J, Maldonado, Amanda C, Khin, Manead, Krunic, Aleksej, Burdette, Joanna E, Orjala, Jimmy. (2022). Aulosirazoles B and C from the Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. UIC 10771: Analogues of an Isothiazolonaphthoquinone Scaffold that Activate Nuclear Transcription Factor FOXO3a in Ovarian Cancer Cells. Journal of Natural Products, 85, (3), 540-546. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c01030.
Sullivan, Peter, Krunic, Aleksej, Davis, Lydia J, Kim, Hwan Seung, Burdette, Joanna E, Orjala, Jimmy. (2021). Phormidepistatin from the Cyanobacterium UIC 10484: Assessing the Phylogenetic Distribution of the Statine Pharmacophore. Journal of Natural Products, 84, (8), 2256-2264. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00334.
Ióca, Laura P, Dai, Yitao, Kunakom, Sylvia, Diaz‐Espinosa, Jennifer, Krunic, Aleksej, Crnkovic, Camila M, Orjala, Jimmy, Sanchez, Laura M, Ferreira, Antonio G, Berlinck, Roberto GS, Eustáquio, Alessandra S. (2021). A Family of Nonribosomal Peptides Modulate Collective Behavior in Pseudovibrio Bacteria Isolated from Marine Sponges**. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 60, (29), 15891-15898. doi:10.1002/anie.202017320.
Sullivan, Peter, Krunic, Aleksej, Burdette, Joanna E, Orjala, Jimmy. (2020). Laxaphycins B5 and B6 from the cultured cyanobacterium UIC 10484. The Journal of Antibiotics, 73, (8), 526-533. doi:10.1038/s41429-020-0301-x.
Li, Shasha, Newmister, Sean A, Lowell, Andrew N, Zi, Jiachen, Chappell, Callie R, Yu, Fengan, Hohlman, Robert M, Orjala, Jimmy, Williams, Robert M, Sherman, David H. (2020). Control of Stereoselectivity in Diverse Hapalindole Metabolites is Mediated by Cofactor‐Induced Combinatorial Pairing of Stig Cyclases. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 59, (21), 8166-8172. doi:10.1002/anie.201913686.
Professional Leadership
American Society of Pharmacognosy, American Society of Pharmacognosy, 11/15/2019 - Present
Education
Degrees:
PhD, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, 1993
Diploma of Pharmacy, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, 1988