Jacob Layton received his bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Waynesburg University in 2019. His undergraduate research explored the basic principles of drug discovery, utilizing various instrumentation including HPLC, LC-MS, and mass spec. During this time, he also completed a 3-month Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at West Virginia University, which served as an introduction to molecular dynamics through exploring the thermodynamics of the pH-low-insertion peptide (pHLIP).

Also in 2019, Jacob joined Dr. Abhishek Singharoy's group as a Chemistry PhD student in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University. The underlying theme of his research is to investigate mechanisms of action of large biomolecular systems--namely the full F1Fo ATP synthase. In collaboration with both Nelli Mnatakanyan at Penn State University College of Medicine and Leo Sazanov at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, he is currently simulating ATP synthase's proposed involvement in the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) via molecular dynamics. His future research endeavors will be focused on using Reinforcement Learning paired with Steered Molecular Dynamics to ascertain likely transition pathways between known states in ABL kinase, which is involved in many cellular processes.