Asst. Prof. Xiao, Yufeng
Our research involves an interdisciplinary approach to drug discovery and development, integrating medicinal chemistry and chemical biology to create novel therapeutic candidates and molecular probes for human diseases. We work closely with collaborators in cancer biology, immunology, and neuroscience to translate chemical innovation into biological insight and therapeutic opportunity.
A central focus of our lab is the design and development of small molecules that can modulate protein–protein interactions. In particular, we are interested in developing molecules capable of inducing targeted protein degradation, stabilization, activation, and post-translational modifications, etc. Through innovative medicinal chemistry strategies, we aim to expand the druggable proteome and develop next-generation therapeutics for human diseases.
Research Areas
- Xiao, Y., Chen, J., Li, S., Zhang, Q., Liu, Y., Chen, L., Sun, Y., Gu, M., Xie, X., and Nan, F. “Discovery of GPR84 Fluorogenic Probes Based on a Novel Antagonist for GPR84 Bioimaging.” Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 67 (2024): 10875–10890. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00359
- Xiao, Y., Awasthee, N., Liu, Y., Meng, C., He, M.Y., Hale, S., Karki, R., Lin, Z., Mosterio, M., Garcia, B.A., Kridel, R., Liao, D., and Zheng, G. “Discovery of a Highly Potent and Selective HDAC8 Degrader: Advancing the Functional Understanding and Therapeutic Potential of HDAC8.” Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 67 (2024): 12784–12806. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00761
- Wang, L., Xiao, Y., Luo, Y., Master, R.P., Mo, J., Kim, M.C., Liu, Y., Maharjan, C.K., Patel, U.M., De, U., Carelock, M.E., Tithi, T.I., Li, X., Shaffer, D.R., Guertin, K.R., Zhuang, H., Moser, E., Smalley, K.S.M., Lv, D., Zhou, D., Zheng, G., and Zhang, W. “PROTAC-Mediated NR4A1 Degradation as a Novel Strategy for Cancer Immunotherapy.” Journal of Experimental Medicine 221 (2024): e20231519. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20231519
- Xiao, Y., Hale, S., Awasthee, N., Meng, C., Zhang, X., Liu, Y., Ding, H., Huo, Z., Lv, D., Zhang, W., He, M., Zheng, G., and Liao, D. “HDAC3 and HDAC8 PROTAC Dual Degrader Reveals Roles of Histone Acetylation in Gene Regulation.” Cell Chemical Biology 30 (2023): 1421–1435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.07.010
- Pei, J., Xiao, Y., Liu, X., Hu, W., Sobh, A., Yuan, Y., Zhou, S., Hua, N., Mackintosh, S.G., Zhang, X., Basso, K.B., Kamat, M., Yang, Q., Licht, J.D., Zheng, G., Zhou, D., and Lv, D. “Piperlongumine Conjugates Induce Targeted Protein Degradation.” Cell Chemical Biology 30 (2023): 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.01.004