András Zeke is a molecular bioscientist and bioinformatician from Hungary. After graduating as MD at Semmelweis University, he obtained his PhD at the Eötvös Loránd University in structural biochemistry. During his PhD studies, he analyzed short linear peptide motifs responsible for protein kinase recruitment and post-translational modifications. With a national postdoctoral grant of excellence at the Research Centre for Natural Sciences (RCNS), Budapest, his research explored atomic-level mechanisms of insulin resistance, cancer-causing mutations and neglected pathogen proteins. During the COVID pandemic, he discovered first-in-class exonuclease inhibitors against coronaviruses with his colleagues at NYU (New York).  As of 2024, he was involved in multiple basic science and early stage drug development projects at RCNS HUN-REN.
In 2024, he won an MSCA postdoctoral fellowship at UniPD, with the goal to identify hypermodified antimicrobial peptides in a group of marine tunicates: ascidians. These exotic bioproducts likely play a role in the hemostasis, wound healing and immune system of ascidians. Under the guidance of Prof. Lucia Manni, the project TuniPeps involves multiple departments (DiBio, DSB, DMM, DII). After predicting and validating novel ribosomally produced and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) from animals, it also aims to explore the (bio)technological potential of these marine natural products, especially as antibacterial surface coatings.