Luke Erber

Dr. Luke Erber is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy. His research focuses on epigenetic regulation and DNA repair mechanisms using chemical biology and mass spectrometry. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Concordia University (2011), a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota (2019), and completed postdoctoral training there until 2023. His lab develops chemical tools to study protein interactions and chromatin dynamics in disease contexts, particularly cancer.

Education:

• B.S. in Chemistry and Biology, Concordia University, Chicago, IL (2011)
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota (2019)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota (2019–2023)

Research Interests:

• Targeting protein-protein interactions in cancer
• Epigenetic reader protein regulation via chromatin remodeling
• Role of DNA damage repair in disease progression
• Chemical probe development for epigenetic modulation

Awards & Honors:

• NIH IRACDA Fellowship (2020)
• Presidential Honors Scholarship, Concordia University (2007)

Labs/Teams: The Erber Research Group at KU focuses on integrating chemical synthesis, cell biology, and mass spectrometry to study disease mechanisms. Their work aims to improve diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for cancer and metabolic disorders.