Jim Wells
University of California, San Francisco
Talk Title
Pirating Biology to Probe and Modulate the cell Surfaceome
Presentation Time
Closing Plenary Keynote Lecture
Thursday, June 29, 2023, at 04:25 pm - 05:15 pm
The cell surface proteome, the surfaceome, is a major hub for cellular communication and a primary source of drug targets, especially for biologics. Identifying how the surfaceome changes in cancer is a central challenge for identifying and targeting new disease associated proteins. We have used chemical methods and engineered proteins to facilitate identification of membrane proteins, both native and post-translationally modified versions, that change with oncogene transformation and or hypoxia a characteristic of the tumor micro-environment.
We then target proteins either upregulated, proteolyzed or both with recombinant antibodies derived by phage display to be used as validation tools and potential therapeutic leads. We also have developed degraders for extracelluar targeted protein degradation called AbTACs and KineTACS. I’ll discuss some of our latest results.
James "Jim" Wells focuses on understanding and modulating signaling processes in human cells through protein and small molecule design. His lab seeks activators as well as inhibitors of signaling molecules, including proteases and kinases, and uses them to study the consequences of triggering specific nodes of signaling circuits. He is especially interested in the inter-protein circuitry of pathways involved in cell death and inflammation, and the intra-protein allosteric circuitry that governs how distant functional sites in one protein communicate.
