Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture

Wednesday, November 7th
Professor Kevan Shokat
"Chemical Genetic Analysis of Kinase Signaling Cascades"

5:30pm - 6:30pm
Braun Lecture Hall
S.G.Mudd Chemistry Building
Stanford University


This is the second of two special lectures hosted by the Bristrol-Myers Squibb Company in support of synthetic organic chemistry. The first lecture will be given by Dr. William Rick Ewing of Bristol-Myers Squibb and will start at 4:15.

These lectures are free and open to the public. All Stanford University Chemistry students are encouraged to attend this special event.

About the lecture:
Our laboratory focuses on the development of novel chemically based tools to decipher signal transduction pathways on a genome-wide scale. We have developed a method for producing small molecules that are specific for any protein kinase of interest in a signaling cascade by combining protein design with chemical synthesis. These highly specific inhibitors of individual kinases have revealed a number of new principles of signal transduction that have complemented genetic and biochemical studies of cell signaling. Examples where new pathways and new functions can be revealed by small molecule inhibitors of protein kinases will be highlighted. A second area of interest in our laboratory is the tracing of direct kinase substrates. We have designed and synthesized unnatural ATP analogs which are substrates of our engineered kinases but are poorly accepted as substrates of wild-type kinases. This specific nucleotide substrate of any kinase of interest allows for the radiolabelling of the direct substrates of a wide variety of protein kinases including both serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases. New methods for the isolation and identification of low abundance substrates of kinases from cells will be discussed.

About Shokat:
Professor Shokat is currently Co-Chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California at San Francisco and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He also a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley. After receiving his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at UC Berkeley with Professor Peter Schultz, and post-doctoral work in immunology at Stanford University with Professor Chris Goodnow, Kevan started his independent career in the Department of Chemistry at Pinceton University as an Assistant and then Associate Professor before moving to UCSF. He has received numerous awards including being named a Fellow of several prestigious research foundations including the Pew Foundation, Searle Foundation, Sloan Foundation, Glaxo-Wellcome Foundation, and the Cotrell Foundation. He has also received the Eli Lilly Award from the American Chemical Society. Professor Shokat is a pioneer in the development of chemical methods for investigating cellular signal transduction pathways—with a particular focus on protein kinases and lipid kinases. Dr. Shokat uses a combination of chemical synthesis and protein engineering to create uniquely traceable and regulatable kinases, allowing the function of over 100 different kinases to be uncovered across all disease areas including oncology, metabolism, and infectious disease.

Questions
Please contact Patricia Dwyer at 650-723-4770.