Jef K. De Brabander

Jef K. De Brabander is a Professor of Radiation Oncology and holds the Julie and Louis Beecherl, Jr. Chair in Medical Science at UT Southwestern Medical Center. His research focuses on chemical biology, pharmacology, and drug development, with a particular emphasis on cancer therapeutics and autophagy regulation. He has co-founded three start-ups, including Reata Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Biogen in 2023), and his work spans enzyme inhibitors, molecular targets in cancer, and neuropharmacology.

Education: Ph.D. from the University of Ghent (Belgium), followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Geneva and Stanford University (as a NATO and Fulbright-Hays Fellow). Promoted to Professor at UT Southwestern in 2007.

Research Interests:

• Design of small-molecule inhibitors for cancer targets (e.g., Bcl-2 proteins, autophagy pathways).
• Development of therapies for glioblastoma, peripheral nerve cancers, and neurodegenerative disorders.
• Structure-based drug design for metabolic and oncology applications.

Scientific Awards:

• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow.

Grants & Labs:

His lab, the De Brabander Group, collaborates extensively on projects involving synthetic chemistry, molecular biology, and preclinical drug testing. Recent grants include studies on glioma stem cells, orexin receptor agonists, and targeted cancer therapies.