Jim Wells

Jim Wells is a Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy. His research focuses on understanding how cells remodel their extracellular proteome in health and disease, with particular emphasis on developing novel therapeutic approaches to cancer through protein and antibody engineering combined with site-directed small molecule strategies.

His work bridges biochemistry, molecular biology, and drug discovery, targeting disease-associated signaling processes at the cellular surface level. Current research directions include developing enabling technologies to attack the cancer surfaceome, as highlighted in his upcoming Rudolf Mößbauer Colloquium presentation titled 'Attacking the cancer surfaceome' scheduled for September 8, 2025 at the MPI for Medical Research in Germany.

Scientific contributions span proteomics, protein engineering, and therapeutic development with applications in oncology. His laboratory develops innovative approaches to disrupt pathological signaling through engineered proteins and targeted small molecules, creating new opportunities for precision medicine interventions.