Center for Global Health and Inter-Disciplinary Research
Yu Chen, PhD
Contact Info
Education
- PhD, Biochemistry, University of Chicago, 2002
- BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Peking University, 1997
Research Interests
- The Chen lab (http://www.thechenlab.com) focuses on structure-based drug design against proteins involved in infectious diseases and cancer. We utilize a multi-disciplinary approach, combining biochemistry, structural biology and computational chemistry, to investigate the function and inhibition of enzymes related to bacterial cell wall synthesis, the biological process targeted by antibiotics such as penicillin. We also study human signal transduction proteins in collaboration with other laboratories. Our research goals include:
- Studying molecular interactions at atomic and ultimately subatomic scale through ultra-high resolution X-ray crystallography;
- Developing fragment-based molecular docking for drug discovery;
- Identifying novel inhibitors as potential drug leads and chemical probes for proteins of biomedical importance.
