Michelle Arkin

Michelle Arkin is the Thomas William and Frederick John MacWilliam Distinguished Professor and Vice Dean of Technology and Entrepreneurship at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She leads the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy and co-directs the Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC), a collaborative research hub with high-throughput screening facilities. Her research focuses on developing drug-like molecules targeting protein-protein interactions, neglected tropical diseases, and neurodegenerative/oncological conditions. Arkin holds a PhD from Caltech and a BA from Bryn Mawr College.

Her academic roles include administrative leadership and strategic initiatives in drug discovery. Research priorities include fragment-based lead discovery, allostery, and high-throughput screening. She co-leads the Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) and maintains an adjunct appointment at the Buck Institute for Aging Research.

Key achievements include the Mark Foundation ASPIRE Award for cancer research and the Cope Scholar Award. Major projects involve molecular glue discovery, KRAS pathway targeting, and tau protein mechanisms in Alzheimer's. Over 200 peer-reviewed publications span chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, and disease modeling.

Grants include NIH funding and industry partnerships. The Arkin Lab collaborates with QBI and SMDC to translate drug candidates into therapies. Future work emphasizes leveraging protein interaction networks and AI-driven screening.