Chemical Biology Program Research
We combine chemical biology, structural and mechanistic insights, proteomics, protein engineering, and design to tackle tough problems at the forefront of cancer research.
Our Mission
To use the power of chemical biology and mechanistic understanding of biological processes to transform the way we study and target disease, especially cancer
Featured Studies
REVIEW: Signaling from RAS to RAF: The Molecules and Their Mechanisms
Researcher: Michael Eck, PhD | Eck Lab
The RAS/RAF/MAP kinase pathway is one of the most critical signaling cascades in cells. It controls cellular proliferation, differentiation, and survival in response to external signals, and its dysfunction is linked to many malignancies. Over the past few years, structural and biochemical studies have provided new understanding of RAF autoregulation and activation, and this review discusses these advances and their implications for cancer drug discovery and development.
PREPRINT: Unveiling the Hidden Interactome of CRBN Molecular Glues With Chemoproteomics
Researcher: Eric Fischer, PhD | Fischer Lab
Researchers from the Fischer Lab established a high throughput affinity purification mass spectrometry-based workflow for unbiased identification of molecular glue targets. Using this strategy, they identified close to 300 targets of 20 CRBN-binding molecular glues.
Group 3 Medulloblastoma Transcriptional Networks Collapse Under Domain Specific EP300/CBP Inhibition
Researcher: Jun Qi, PhD | Qi Lab
Here, Qi lab, in a collaborative effort, discovered that targeting different domains of EP300/CBP has different effects in different cancers. For example, in G3MB using inhibitors that target the bromodomain (BRD) caused rapid disruption of genetic dependency networks that are required for tumor growth, unlike inhibitors that target another domain called HAT. This study provides important evidence that targeting different domains of multidomain proteins yields different phenotypes, something that has thus far been overlooked in drug discovery.
Explore More of Our Research Interests
Paving the Way with Chemical Biology
Take a look inside the growing Chemical Biology Program at Dana-Farber, where chemists and biologists work side by side to find answers to some of the most challenging problems in targeted cancer therapies.
Drug Discovery: Loren Walensky, MD, PhD
Loren Walensky, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber's Department of Pediatric Oncology and the Chemical Biology Program, speaks about the collaborative drug discovery happening in the Longwood Center at Dana-Farber.
Medicinal Chemist Making New Drugs
Sara Buhrlage, PhD, of Dana-Farber's Department of Cancer Biology and the Chemical Biology Program, explains the collaborative process of creating first-in-class drugs at Dana-Farber.
Targeted Protein Degradation
Listen to Eric Fischer, Ph.D. explain targeted protein degradation, its history, and its promising future.

Research Spotlight
Fischer Lab, in collaboration with colleagues from the Broad Institute, developed the next-generation of degron tags that can be engineered into target proteins to induce their controlled degradation. The tag developed here is a short zinc-finger degron that engages the cereblon, only in the presence of small molecule ligands that induce binding between the tag and cereblon. In this manner, the tag + small molecule serve to glue the protein of interest to an E3 ligase machinery that results in target ubiquitination and degradation.