Organic Chemistry Seminar

The Woo lab innovates chemical methods to illuminate and manipulate protein modifications in our cells. I will describe our investigation of one modification, the C-terminal cyclic imide, and how this chemistry is used by nature to regulate protein homeostasis through the E3 ligase cereblon. This understanding of the chemistry and biology of cereblon has revealed new connections across cellular pathways and allosteric effects that dictate protein degradation outcomes. In parallel, we have harnessed this chemistry to develop molecular glue degrader platforms that have given rise to first in class degraders for a range of target proteins. These and other efforts to rewrite protein modifications sit at a rich chemical biology interface that drive discovery of regulatory processes with relevance to human biology and inspire new approaches to therapeutic development.