معرفی
Juan Mendoza is an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago, holding dual appointments in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He also serves as Senior Advisor to the Dean for Diversity & Inclusion. His research focuses on protein engineering, structural biology, and immunology, with applications in cancer research and cytokine therapeutics.
Education:
- Bachelor’s in Biochemistry, San Francisco State University
- PhD in Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Postdoctoral Research at Stanford University (NIH NCI Career Development Award recipient)
Research Interests: Mendoza’s lab explores protein engineering to design therapeutic molecules, structural biology of cytokine-receptor complexes (e.g., interferons), and computational biology to predict protein behavior. His work bridges molecular mechanisms and translational applications in cancer immunotherapy and antiviral strategies.
Key Contributions: Recent studies include cryo-EM解析 of IFNλ4 receptor complexes, protease-activated therapeutics, and T cell receptor ligand discovery. His team develops synthetic cytokines (synthekines) to modulate immune responses with precision.
Awards:
- 2023 Freeman Hrabowski Scholar (HHMI)
- Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellowship
Lab & Affiliations: The Mendoza Lab is located at CLSC Room 1001 (920 E. 58th St., Chicago). His group collaborates on projects funded by NIH and HHMI, focusing on molecular dynamics simulations and structure-guided engineering of biologics.
