Kevan M. Shokat, Ph.D.

Research

We have developed chemical methods to decipher the role of individual kinases and their cellular signaling networks. Our goals are to understand each kinase’s role in the body and to learn which kinases should be targeted to treat diseases such as cancer and immune dysfunction.Research in my laboratory is focused on using the tools of synthetic organic chemistry, structural biology, genetics, and mathematical modeling to gain insight into how signaling networks transmit information in normal and disease settings. Our guiding principle is to use chemistry to answer questions that cannot be addressed by the use of biochemistry or genetics in this way we seek to provide tools, which fill in the gaps left behind by more traditional approaches. Our work is multidisciplinary and involves many productive collaborations with cell and organismal biologists, systems biologists, structural biologists, and computational biologists.