- Bio-Organic Chemistry
- Biological Chemistry
- Structure-Based Drug Design
- B.S., University of Science and Technology of China (1994)
- M.S., University of Pittsburgh (1997)
- Ph.D., Yale University (2000)
- Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA (2000-2003)
- Staff Scientist, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA (2003-2005)
Our research focuses on developing chemical and biochemical tools toward understanding and manipulation of cellular processes involving proteins, e.g. protein misfolding and aggregation, protein posttranslational modification, and protein-protein interactions. We are currently initiating three programs: (a) the development of chemical tools to study the mechanism of protein misfolding and aggregation involved in diverse diseases including cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, and cancers; (b) the development of general methodologies for in vivo protein posttranslational modification with novel chemical functionalities through biochemical engineering; and (c) the development of small-molecule modulators of protein-protein interactions in which discrete, well-defined binding pockets exist, e.g. PDZ-PDZ domain interactions. An integrated approach combining structure-based ligand design, combinatorial synthesis, biochemical and biophysical analysis, pathway engineering, and cell and animal models will be employed in our investigations.
Selected Recent Publications