Amanda Elaine Hargrove

Associate Professor of Chemistry

The Hargrove lab harnesses the unique properties of small organic molecules to study the structure, function and therapeutic potential of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). The discovery of these fascinating biomolecules has caused a paradigm shift in molecular biology and speculation as to their role as the master drivers of diseases such as cancer. At the same time very little is known about their structure and function, leading some to call the field a veritable “wild West.” Small molecules are the perfect tools for such exploration, and the Hargrove lab works at the interface of chemistry and biology, employing methods ranging from RNA-targeted small molecule synthesis and array-based pattern recognition to studies of the molecular and cellular biology of nucleic acids. Collaborations with the Department of Biology as well as colleagues in the School of Medicine ensure that these tools are applied to the most important unsolved problems in the fundamental biology and disease-related actions of long noncoding RNAs.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Associate Professor of Chemistry
• Associate Professor of Biochemistry
• Member of the Duke Cancer Institute

Contact Information

• Office Location: 3219 French Science Center, Box 90346, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 660-1522
• Email Address: amanda.hargrove@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Hargrove Research Group

Education

• California Institute of Technology, 2013
• Ph.D. University of Texas, Austin, 2010
• B.S. Trinity University, 2004

Courses Taught

• BIOCHEM 393: Research Independent Study
• BIOCHEM 593: Research Independent Study
• CHEM 81S: Introduction to Research in Chemistry
• CHEM 393: Research Independent Study
• CHEM 394: Research Independent Study
• CHEM 493: Research Independent Study
• CHEM 494: Research Independent Study
• CHEM 511: Chemistry of Biomolecular Interactions

In the News

• Taking New Aim at COVID-19 (Nov 23, 2021)
• Meet the Newly Tenured Faculty of 2021 (Sep 21, 2021 | Office of Faculty Advancement)
• Duke Celebrates Women and Girls in Science Day (Feb 10, 2021)
• New Drug Candidate Found for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (Sep 22, 2020)
• Trinity College Honors 11 for Teaching, Leadership, Diversity (Apr 17, 2020)
• Amanda Hargrove Has a Target on Hard-to-Fight Diseases (Feb 12, 2020 | Trinity College of Arts and Sciences)
• Designing Drugs Aimed at a Different Part of Lifes Code (Oct 13, 2017 | Duke Research Blog)
• Amanda Hargrove Named Young Investigator by Prostate Cancer Foundation (Oct 22, 2015)
• Geeky Goggles Let You Take a Field Trip Without Leaving Class (Apr 27, 2015 | Duke Research Blog)
• Geeky Goggles Let You Take a Field Trip Without Leaving Class (Apr 27, 2015 | Duke Research Blog)
• Two Win Powe Award from Oak Ridge (Jul 28, 2014)

Representative Publications

• Zafferani, M; Haddad, C; Luo, L; Davila-Calderon, J; Chiu, L-Y; Mugisha, CS; Monaghan, AG; Kennedy, AA; Yesselman, JD; Gifford, RJ; Tai, AW; Kutluay, SB; Li, M-L; Brewer, G; Tolbert, BS; Hargrove, AE, Amilorides inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro by targeting RNA structures., Science Advances, vol 7 no. 48 (2021) [10.1126/sciadv.abl6096] [abs].
• Davila-Calderon, J; Patwardhan, NN; Chiu, L-Y; Sugarman, A; Cai, Z; Penutmutchu, SR; Li, M-L; Brewer, G; Hargrove, AE; Tolbert, BS, IRES-targeting small molecule inhibits enterovirus 71 replication via allosteric stabilization of a ternary complex., Nature Communications, vol 11 no. 1 (2020) [10.1038/s41467-020-18594-3] [abs].