Summary
David M. Leitner is Reynold C. Fuson Professor of Chemistry. His current research interests include theoretical and computational studies of energy flow in molecules, particularly in biological systems, and its influence on chemical reaction kinetics and thermal transport. Other research interests include theoretical approaches to address thermal conduction in nanoscale systems, and computational studies of terahertz spectroscopy and dynamics of solvated biomolecules. He carried out his undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at Cornell University and received his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at the University of Chicago working with R. S. Berry. After one year as a postdoc with Jim Doll at Brown University, he was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Heidelberg, where he worked with Lorenz Cederbaum, research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he worked with Peter Wolynes, and assistant project scientist at UCSD. He joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2000. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Research interests
How energy flows within a molecule mediates the rate at which it reacts in gas and condensed phases and in cells. We have been developing theories describing quantum mechanical energy flow in molecules and applying them to predict rates of conformational change and charge transfer reactions. This theoretical work provides a tractable approach to calculate rates of reactions involving large molecules in gas and condensed phases that goes beyond simple transition state theory predictions by incorporating contributions of intramolecular quantum energy flow and coupling to the environment.
We are also exploring energy and thermal transport at the nanoscale, including molecular junctions, proteins and nanoporous materials. An understanding of how these objects conduct heat is valuable for emerging nanotechnologies, describing and control of thermal transport in systems of biological molecules, and predicting the role of energy flow during chemical reactions in complex environments.
Biomolecule dynamics and energy flow are intimately coupled to the solvent. We have been studying by numerical simulation dynamic coupling between proteins and water molecules near the surface of the protein and confined within it. This work is motivated in part by terahertz spectroscopic studies that have been carried out on solvated proteins and saccharides, which directly probe the underlying protein-solvent interactions and dynamics.
Honors and awards
- 2025, Foundation Professor Award
- 2023, Nevada Board of Regents Distinguished Researcher Award
- 2019, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Invitational Fellow
- 2017, Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- 2014, University of Nevada, Reno Outstanding Researcher Award
- 2012, Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS)
- 2011, Hyung K. Shin Award for Excellence in Research (College of Science, University of Nevada, Reno)
- 2004, Mousel-Feltner Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity (College of Liberal Arts and College of Science, University of Nevada, Reno)
- 2001, Research Corporation Research Innovation Award
- 2000, Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award
About the Reynold Clayton Fuson Endowed Chemistry Professorship
Reynold Clayton Fuson was an American chemist who spent 14 years at the end of his career as a distinguished visiting professor at the University. Fuson considered his students and colleagues his family and divided his substantial estate between several universities to support students, lecturers and professorships. Established: 1984. (College of Science)
Education
- B.S. Chemical Engineering, B.A. Chemistry, Cornell University (1985)
- Ph.D. Chemical Physics, The University of Chicago (1989)
Selected publications
- Shaon, P. H.; Poudel, H.; Leitner, D. M. Tuning vibrational lifetimes by chemical substitution and impact on plasmon-assisted catalysis. Phys. Chem. A 2025, 129(8), 2006-2015.
- Rožić, T.; Teynor, M. S.; Došlić, N.; Leitner, D. M.; Solomon, G. C. A strategy for modeling nonstatistical reactivity effects: Combining chemical activation estimates with a vibrational relaxation model. Chem. Theory Comput. 2024, 20(20), 9048-9059.
- Poudel, H.; Wales, D. J.; Leitner, D. M. Vibrational energy landscapes and energy flow in GPCRs. Phys. Chem. B. 2024, 128(31), 7568-7576.
- Poudel, H., Shaon, P.H., and Leitner, D.M. (2024). Vibrational energy flow in molecules attached to plasmonic nanoparticles. J. Phys. Chem. C. 128, 8628-8636.
- Reid, K. M.; Poudel, H.; Leitner, D. M. Dynamics of hydrogen bonds between water and intrinsically disordered and structured regions of proteins. Phys Chem. B. 2023, 127, 783-7847.
- Poudel, H.; Leitner, D. M. Locating dynamic contributions to allostery via determining rates of vibrational energy transfer. Chem. Phys. 2023, 158, 15101.
- Poudel, H.; Leitner, D.M. Energy transport in class B GPCRs: Role of protein-water dynamics and activation. Phys. Chem. B 2022, 126, 8362-8373.
- Reid, K. M.; Leitner, D. M. Enhanced mobility during Diels-Alder reaction: Results of molecular simulations. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13, 3763-3769.
- Reid, K.M., Singh, A.K., Bikash, C.R., Wei, J., Tal-Gan, Y., Vinh, N.Q., and Leitner, D.M. (2022). The origin and impact of bound water around intrinsically disordered proteins. Biophysical Journal 121, 540-551.
- Maitra, A.; Sarkar, S.; Leitner, D. M.; Dawlaty, J. M. Electric fields influence intramolecular energy relaxation and line widths. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2021, 12, 7818-7825.
- Poudel, H.; Leitner, D. M. Activation-induced reorganization of energy transport networks in the 𝞫2 adrenergic receptor. Phys. Chem. B 2021, 125, 6522-6531.
- Reid, K. M.; Yu, X.; Leitner, D. M. Change in vibrational entropy with change in protein volume estimated with mode Grüneisen parameters. Chem. Phys. 2021, 154, 55102.
- Leitner, D. M.; Hyeon, C.; Reid, K. M. Water-mediated biomolecular dynamics and allostery. Chem. Phys. 2020, 152, 24091.
- Poudel, H.; Reid, K. M.; Yamato, T.; Leitner, D. M. Energy transfer across nonpolar and polar contacts in proteins: Role of contact fluctuations. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124, 9852-9861.
- Reid, K. M.; Yamato, T.; Leitner, D. M. Variation of energy transfer rates across protein-water contacts with equilibrium structural fluctuations of a homodimeric hemoglobin. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124, 1148-1159.
- Leitner, D. M.; Yamato, T. Recent developments in the computational study of protein structural and vibrational energy dynamics. Rev. 2020, 12, 317-322.