Janarthanan Jayawickramarajah

Professor Elisabeth Martin Armstrong Dean Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

Email

jananj@mail.smu.edu
Office Location

201 Dallas Hall

Education

Postdoctoral Researcher, Yale University (2005-2007)
Ph.D. Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin (2005) 
B.S. Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2000)

About

  • Elisabeth Martin Armstrong Dean, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Southern Methodist University (2025 - present)
  • Professor of Chemistry, Southern Methodist University (2025 - present)
  • Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Tulane University (2024 - 2025)
  • Associate Dean for Research, Faculty Affairs and Ph.D. Programs, Tulane University (2023 - 2024)
  • Professor of Chemistry, Tulane University (2007 - 2025) 
     

Research Interests

  • The Chemistry and Self-Assembly of Macrocyclic Host-DNA Conjugates
  • Mechanically Interlocked Molecules and Slide-Ring Materials
  • Development of Stimuli Responsive Protein-Binders Based on DNA-Small Molecule Chimeras
  • Development of Well-Defined Porphyrin Arrays in Water: Towards Photonic Nanostructure 

Selected Publications

  1. Beltrami, N.; Pradhan, S.; Rudman, N. A.; Jyoti, A.; Adekusibe, O.; Berk Atuk, E.; Zarandi, M. A.; Ismail, M.; Franques, A. G.; Kagalwala, H. N.; Dmochowski, I. J.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Cucurbit[6]uril-Monoazide: Towards Covalent DNA Conjugates Capable of Orthogonal Xenon Binding/Rotaxane Formation and DNA Base-Pairing. 2026, Submitted
  2. Zarandi, M. A.; Pathak, P.; Beltrami, N.; Walker, J. N.; Zhang, F.; Brodbelt, J. S.; Schmehl, R.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Heteromeric guanosine (G)-quadruplex derived antenna modules with directional energy transfer. Nanoscale 2023, 15, 19069-19073.
  3. Kankanamalage, D. V. D. W.; Tran, J. H. T.; Beltrami, N.; Meng, K.; Zhou, X.; Pathak, P.; Isaacs, L.; Burin, A. L.; Ali, M. F.; Jayawickramarajah, J. DNA Strand Displacement Driven by Host–Guest Interactions. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 16502-16511.
  4. Pandey, S.; Xiang, Y.; Kankanamalage, D. V. D. W.; Jayawickramarajah, J.; Leng, Y.; Mao, H. Measurement of Single-Molecule Forces in Cholesterol and Cyclodextrin Host–Guest Complexes. J. Phys. Chem. B 2021, 125, 11112-11121.
  5. Schmidt, E.; Vik, R.; Brubaker, B. W.; Abdulahad, S. S.; Soto-Olson, D. K.; Monjure, T. A.; Battle, C. H.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Increasing Student Interest and Self-Efficacy in STEM by Offering a Service-Learning Chemistry Course in New Orleans. J. Chem. Ed. 2020, 97, 4008-4018.
  6. Pandey, S.; Kankanamalage, D.; Zhou, X.; Hu, C.; Isaacs, L.; Jayawickramarajah, J.; Mao, H. Chaperone-Assisted Host-Guest Interactions Revealed by Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 18385-18389.
  7. Pathak, P.; Yao, W.; Hook, K. D.; Vik, R.; Winnerdy, F. R.; Brown, J. Q.; Gibb, B. C.; Pursell, Z. F.; Phan, A. T.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Bright G-Quadruplex Nanostructures Functionalized with Porphyrin Lanterns. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 12582-12591.
  8. Zhou, X.; Pathak, P.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Design, synthesis, and applications of DNA-macrocyclic host conjugates. Chem. Commun. 2018, 54, 11668-11680.
  9. Zhou, X.; Su, X.; Pathak, P.; Vik, R.; Vinciguerra, B.; Isaacs, L.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Host–Guest Tethered DNA Transducer: ATP Fueled Release of a Protein Inhibitor from Cucurbit[7]uril. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 13916-13921.
  10. Aryal, G. H.; Battle, C. H.; Grusenmeyer, T. A.; Zhu, M.; Jayawickramarajah, J. A naphthalimide derived fluorescent sensor for solid-phase screening of cucurbit[7]uril–guest interactions. Chem. Commun. 2016, 52, 2307-2310.
  11. Su, X.; Zhou, X.; Zhang, N.; Zhu, M.; Zhang, H.; Jayawickramarajah, J. A stable bidentate protein binder achieved via DNA self-assembly driven ligand migration. Chem. Commun. 2015, 51, 13615-13618.
  12. Zhang, H.; Zhang, B.; Zhu, M.; Grayson, S. M.; Schmehl, R.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Water-soluble porphyrin nanospheres: enhanced photo-physical properties achieved via cyclodextrin driven double self-inclusion. Chem. Commun. 2014, 50, 4853-4855.
  13. Zhang, N.; Chu, X.; Fathalla, M.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Photonic DNA-Chromophore Nanowire Networks: Harnessing Multiple Supramolecular Assembly Modes. Langmuir 2013, 29, 10796-10806.
  14. Harris, C.; Saks, B. R.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Protein-Binding Molecular Switches via Host–Guest Stabilized DNA Hairpins. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 7676-7679.
  15. Fathalla, M.; Neuberger, A.; Li, S.-C.; Schmehl, R.; Diebold, U.; Jayawickramarajah, J. Straightforward Self-Assembly of Porphyrin Nanowires in Water: Harnessing Adamantane/β-Cyclodextrin Interactions. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 9966-9967.

 

Portrait of Dean Janan Jayawickramarajah