Stanford University
Showing 21-40 of 95 Results
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Markus Covert
Shriram Chair of the Department of Bioengineering, Professor of Bioengineering and, by courtesy, of Chemical and Systems Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur focus is on building computational models of complex biological processes, and using them to guide an experimental program. Such an approach leads to a relatively rapid identification and validation of previously unknown components and interactions. Biological systems of interest include metabolic, regulatory and signaling networks as well as cell-cell interactions. Current research involves the dynamic behavior of NF-kappaB, an important family of transcription factors.
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Magdalena Crossley
Instructor, Chemical and Systems Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsInvestigating the role of R-loops in genome instability and cancer.
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Justin Du Bois
Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry and Professor, by courtesy, of Chemical and Systems Biology
BioResearch and Scholarship
Research in the Du Bois laboratory spans reaction methods development, natural product synthesis, and chemical biology, and draws on expertise in molecular design, molecular recognition, and physical organic chemistry. An outstanding goal of our program has been to develop C–H bond functionalization processes as general methods for organic chemistry, and to demonstrate how such tools can impact the logic of chemical synthesis. A second area of interest focuses on the role of ion channels in electrical conduction and the specific involvement of channel subtypes in the sensation of pain. This work is enabled in part through the advent of small molecule modulators of channel function.
The Du Bois group has described new tactics for the selective conversion of saturated C–H to C–N and C–O bonds. These methods have general utility in synthesis, making possible the single-step incorporation of nitrogen and oxygen functional groups and thus simplifying the process of assembling complex molecules. To date, lab members have employed these versatile oxidation technologies to prepare natural products that include manzacidin A and C, agelastatin, tetrodotoxin, and saxitoxin. Detailed mechanistic studies of metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization reactions are performed in parallel with process development and chemical synthesis. These efforts ultimately give way to advances in catalyst design. A long-standing goal of this program is to identify robust catalyst systems that afford absolute control of reaction selectivity.
In a second program area, the Du Bois group is exploring voltage-gated ion channel structure and function using the tools of chemistry in combination with those of molecular biology, electrophysiology, microscopy and mass spectrometry. Much of this work has focused on studies of eukaryotic Na and Cl ion channels. The Du Bois lab is interested in understanding the biochemical mechanisms that underlie channel subtype regulation and how such processes may be altered following nerve injury. Small molecule toxins serve as lead compounds for the design of isoform-selective channel modulators, affinity reagents, and fluorescence imaging probes. Access to toxins and modified forms thereof (including saxitoxin, gonyautoxin, batrachotoxin, and veratridine) through de novo synthesis drives studies to elucidate toxin-receptor interactions and to develop new pharmacologic tools to study ion channel function in primary cells and murine pain models. -
James Ferrell
Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and of Biochemistry
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy lab has two main goals: to understand the regulation of mitosis and to understand the systems-level logic of simple signaling circuits. We often make use of Xenopus laevis oocytes, eggs, and cell-free extracts for both sorts of study. We also carry out single-cell fluorescence imaging studies on mammalian cell lines. Our experimental work is complemented by computational and theoretical studies aimed at understanding the design principles and recurring themes of regulatory circuits.
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Nathanael S. Gray
Krishnan-Shah Family Professor
BioNathanael Gray is the Krishnan-Shah Family Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford, Co-Director of Cancer Drug Discovery Co-Leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Research Program, Member of Chem-H, and Program Leader for Small Molecule Drug Discovery for the Innovative Medicines Accelerator (IMA). His research utilizes the tools of synthetic chemistry, protein biochemistry, and cancer biology to discover and validate new strategies for the inhibition of anti-cancer targets. Dr. Gray’s research has had broad impact in the areas of kinase inhibitor design and in circumventing drug resistance.
Dr. Gray received his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1999 after receiving his BS degree with the highest honor award from the same institution in 1995. After completing his PhD, Dr. Gray was recruited to the newly established Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) in San Diego, California. During his six year stay at GNF, Dr. Gray became the director of biological chemistry where he supervised a group of over fifty researchers integrating chemical, biological and pharmacological approaches towards the development of new experimental drugs. Some of the notable accomplishments of Dr. Gray’s team at GNF include: discovery of the first allosteric inhibitors of wild-type and mutant forms of BCR-ABL which resulted in clinical development of ABL001; discovery of the first selective inhibitors of the Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK), an achievement that led to the development of now FDA-approved drugs such as ceritinib (LDK378) for the treatment of EML4-ALK expressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); and discovery that sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1 (S1P1) is the pharmacologically relevant target of the immunosuppressant drug Fingomilod (FTY720) followed by the development of Siponimod (BAF312), which is currently used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
In 2006, Dr. Gray returned to academia as a faculty member at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston. There, he has established a discovery chemistry group that focuses on developing first-in-class inhibitors for newly emerging biological targets, including resistant alleles of existing targets, as well as inhibitors of well-validated targets, such as Her3 and RAS, that have previously been considered recalcitrant to small molecule drug development. Dr. Gray’s team developed covalent inhibitors of the T790M mutant of EGFR inspired the development of Osimertinib (AZD9291), now FDA approved for treatment of patients with relapsed lung cancer due to resistance to first generation EGFR inhibitors. Dr. Gray has also developed structure-based, generalized approaches for designing drugs to overcome one of the most common mechanisms of resistance observed against most kinase inhibitor drugs, mutation of the so-called "gatekeeper" residue, which has been observed in resistance to drugs targeting BCR-ABL, c-KIT and PDGFR.
In 2021, Dr. Gray joined Stanford University where he has joined the Stanford Cancer Institute, Chem-H and the Innovative Medicines Accelerator (IMA) to spur the development of prototype drugs.
These contributions have been recognized through numerous awards including the National Science Foundation’s Career award in 2007, the Damon Runyon Foundation Innovator award in 2008, the American Association for Cancer Research for Team Science in 2010 and for Outstanding Achievement in 2011 and the American Chemical Society award for Biological Chemistry in 2011, and the Nancy Lurie Marks endowed professorship in 2015 and the Paul Marks Prize in 2019, and the Hope Funds for Cancer Research in 2023. -
Muhammad Murtaza Hassan
Postdoctoral Scholar, Chemical and Systems Biology
Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford Cancer CenterBioMurtaza is a chemical biologist that joined the Gray Lab in July 2021 as a postdoctoral researcher. He developed his love for medicinal chemistry and chemical biology at the undergraduate level at the University of Toronto Mississauga which then motivated him to pursue an MSc (York University, Supervisor: Prof. Edward Lee-Ruff, 2017) and PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga, Supervisor: Patrick T. Gunning, 2021) in the field. His PhD work involved the development of some of the most potent and selective HDAC8 inhibitors known-to-date. It incorporated inhibitors with L-shaped conformational constraints to compliment the L-shaped HDAC8 pocket. His current work at the Gray Lab revolves around the development of first-in-class covalent inhibitors for recently discovered epigenetic targets that have been shown to synergize with anticancer immunotherapy. Additionally, he is interested in developing small-molecule chemoproteomic tools that can potentially expand our ability to target otherwise undruggable proteins, by using protein-protein interactions for cross-labelling/drugging interacting proteins.
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Wouter Huiting
Postdoctoral Scholar, Chemical and Systems Biology
BioWouter received his training at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Here he obtained a B.Sc.and M.Sc. in Human Movement Sciences (2008-2015), followed by a M.Sc. in Clinical and Molecular Neurosciences (2014-2016). He performed his doctoral research at the University of Groningen, obtaining his PhD degree in Molecular Cell Biology in 2021. Wouter continued his research in 2022 with a position as postdoctoral scholar at the Jarosz lab, at the department of Chemical and Systems Biology. Here he pursues his interest in the molecular forces underlying proteomic adaptation of cells and systems in development and disease. Outside of Stanford, Wouter is an avid sportsman, and likes cooking, hiking, birding, and in general loves to enjoy nature and wildlife with his wife Mardi.
