Positions

Director

Center for NextGen Therapeutics
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Professor in Pharmacology

Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Professor

Molecular and Cellular Biology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Member

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Addresses

1 Baylor Plaza (Office)

Room: Alkek N520.05
Houston, TX 77030
United States

Education

BS from Peking University

07/2003 - Beijing, China

Chemistry

PhD from The Ohio State University

12/2007 - Columbus, Ohio United States

Organic Chemistry

Postdoctoral Training at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

05/2011 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina United States

Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine

Honors & Awards

Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Professorship in Pharmacology

Baylor College of Medicine (06/2021)

Teaching Award - Outstanding Lecturer

Baylor College of Medicine Graduate School (12/2020)

Teaching Award - Chemical Biology as the Best Course in the CPSB Program

Baylor College of Medicine Graduate School (12/2020)

Distinguished Faculty Award

Chinese American Chemistry & Chemical Biology Professors Association (CAPA) (12/2020)

CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research

Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) (07/2011)

Professional Interests

• Chemical Biology
• Sensors and Probes
• Small Molecule Drug Discovery
• Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs), Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD)
• Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs)
• Proteomics and Chemoproteomics
• Cancer Immunotherapies
• Auto-inflammatory and auto-immune diseases
• Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD)
• Metabolic diseases, such as obesity

Professional Statement

At Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), my research harnesses the power of chemistry to address fundamental questions in biology and drive therapeutic innovation. We function as a highly integrated academic drug discovery unit, mirroring many capabilities of a biotech setting. Our expertise covers the spectrum from target identification and validation to preclinical testing, including artificial intelligence (AI) and physics-based computational modeling (folding, docking, MD simulations), medicinal chemistry, structural biology, biochemical and cell-based assay development, in-house DMPK profiling, and evaluation in animal models. This comprehensive approach allows us to rationally design diverse therapeutic modalities like small molecule inhibitors, protein degraders (PROTACs, molecular glues), and antibody-drug conjugates, as well as novel chemical biology tools. Notable achievements include developing the widely adopted quantitative GSH fluorescent probe, pioneering SI-2 inhibitors against the challenging SRC-3 oncoprotein, and creating a novel brain-penetrant sEH inhibitor for Alzheimer's disease. Currently, we are intensely focused on advancing targeted protein degradation strategies and employing chemoproteomics to identify novel covalent inhibitors, ultimately aiming to translate our discoveries into improved human health outcomes.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Xin Yu, Dong Lu, Xiaoli Qi, Rishi Ram Paudel, Hanfeng Lin, Bryan L Holloman, Feng Jin, Longyong Xu, Lang Ding, Weiyi Peng, Meng C Wang, Xi Chen, Jin Wang "Development of a RIPK1 Degrader to Enhance Antitumor Immunity." Nature Communications. 2024 Dec 16;15(1):1-14. Pubmed PMID: 39681571
• Lingfei Wang, Hanfeng Lin, Bin Yang, Xiqian Jiang, Jianwei Chen, Sandipan Roy Chowdhury, Ninghui Cheng, Paul A Nakata, David M Lonard, Meng C Wang, Jin Wang "Development of a Novel Amplifiable System to Quantify Hydrogen Peroxide in Living Cells." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024 Jul 30;146(32):22396-22404. Pubmed PMID: 39079063
• Wen-Hao Guo, Xiaoli Qi, Yang Liu, Chan-I Chung, Fang Bai, Xingcheng Lin, Lingfei Wang, Jianwei Chen, Krystle J. Nomie, Feng Li, Meng C. Wang, Xiaokun Shu, José N. Onuchic, Jennifer A. Woyach, Michael L. Wang, Jin Wang* "Enhancing intracellular accumulation and target engagement of PROTACs with reversible covalent chemistry." Nature Communications. 2020;11:4268. Pubmed PMID: 32848159
• Jiang X, Chen J, Bajić A, Zhang C, Song X, Carroll SL, Cai ZL, Tang M, Xue M, Cheng N, Schaaf CP, Li F, MacKenzie KR, Ferreon ACM, Xia F, Wang MC, Maletić-Savatić M, Wang J "Quantitative real-time imaging of glutathione." Nature Communications. 2017 Jul 13;8:16087. Pubmed PMID: 28703127

Funding

Development of First-in-Class RIPK1 Degraders to Improve Cancer Immunotherapies - #1R01CA268518-01

(06/01/2022 - 05/31/2027) Grant funding from NIH/NCI

RIP PROTACs as a Novel Immunotherapy Sensitizer to Treat Colorectal Cancer - #RP220480

(03/01/2022 - 02/28/2025) Grant funding from CPRIT

Developing Novel Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease - #U01AG068031

(09/15/2020 - 05/31/2025) Grant funding from NIH/NIA

Reversible Covalent BTK Degraders As the Next Generation Targeted Therapy To Treat B-Cell Malignancies - #R01CA250503

(07/01/2020 - 06/30/2025) Grant funding from NIH/NCI

Intellectual Property

Product Patent (Pending)

Co Inventors: Xiqian Jiang; Jianwei Chen

Product Patent (Approved)

Co Inventors: Fude Feng

Product Patent (Approved)

Co Inventors: Bert W. O’Malley, David M. Lonard, Jianming Xu, and Jianwei Chen

Product Patent (Pending)

Co Inventors: Jin Wang, Wen-Hao Guo, Xiaoli Qi, Michael Wang, Krystle Nomie, and Yang Yu

Product Patent (Pending)

Co Inventors: Jin Wang, Hui Zheng, Lisheng Deng, and Anamitra Ghosh