Kheewoong Baek, PhD

Attaching a small molecule known as ubiquitin to a protein, in a process called ubiquitylation, targets that protein for degradation. By utilizing the ubiquitylation machinery, scientists are now able to target cancer-causing proteins for degradation, a strategy that has proven effective with drugs such as Lenalidomide/Revlimid to treat multiple myeloma. One way to bring proteins in proximity to ubiquitin ligases (attachers) is with synthetic adhesion molecules, or “molecular glue.” This may provide a means of targeting proteins previously deemed undruggable, including those that lack a binding site for inhibitors. Dr. Baek aims to expand the degradable proteome by establishing a formula for the design of molecular glues to target cancer-causing proteins as a therapeutic modality. Dr. Baek received his PhD from Technical University of Munich and Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich, his MS from University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, and his BA from Rutgers University, New Brunswick.