Chemistry Seminar Presented by Prof. Brian Liau "Chemical Genomics: Small Molecule Mechanism in the Era of Large - scale Genetics"

The Department of Chemistry is excited to host Brian Liau (Harvard)
To learn more about the Liau lab's work, please visit their research page: http://www.liaulab.org/

Chemical Genomics: Small Molecule Mechanism in the Era of Large-scale Genetics

The orchestrated interactions of protein complexes shape cell function and state. Dysregulation of these complexes and their interactions can underlie human disease, and new therapeutic approaches to modulate them by blocking or even creating interactions with small molecules are transforming paradigms for drug discovery. Beyond their promise as therapeutics, small molecules are powerful tools to dissect the function and biology of protein complexes. But their full potential is only unlocked if we understand their mechanisms of action. By combining genome editing with small molecule profiling, we describe the systematic identification of drug resistance-conferring mutations across protein targets of interest. These mutations not only confirm on-target engagement but also act as discovery tools to uncover new biology and mechanisms through the serendipitous insights they can offer. In this seminar, I will describe how the application of these chemical genomic approaches in combination with deeper mechanistic investigation have reshaped our views on targeting chromatin complexes and their interactions with small molecules.

Hosted by Jiyong Hong