معرفی
Minkui Luo is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine's Graduate School of Medical Sciences and a member of the Chemical Biology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His laboratory develops cutting-edge chemical tools to study epigenetic regulation and designs inhibitors for cancer therapies, with research spanning chemical biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology.
Education:
- BS, Fudan University
- PhD, Princeton University
Dr. Luo's research focuses on the interface of chemistry and biology, particularly in epigenetics. His laboratory develops novel chemical tools to study protein methyltransferases and their roles in epigenetic regulation, with emphasis on understanding how dysregulation of these processes contributes to diseases like cancer. Current research programs target epigenetic writers (PMTs), readers (Rme/Kme effectors), and erasers (demethylases), with particular focus on noncanonical histone methylation, protein homeostasis, and transcription plasticity in the context of metastatic cancer, cell differentiation, and neural diseases. The lab employs integrated approaches combining chemical synthesis, biochemical assays, and biological validation to bridge technology gaps in epigenetic research.
Analysis of Dr. Luo's recent publications reveals a strong focus on epigenetic regulation in cancer through protein methylation processes. His work combines chemical biology, structural biology, and biochemistry to develop tools for studying epigenetic mechanisms and to design targeted inhibitors. Key themes include understanding conformational dynamics of protein methyltransferases (particularly SETD8), developing chemical probes for specific epigenetic targets like CARM1, and exploring therapeutic potential of targeting epigenetic processes in cancer. His research demonstrates a consistent trajectory toward developing precision chemical tools to dissect complex epigenetic networks.
Scientific Awards:
- Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (R35), NIGMS/NIH (2019)
- Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, American Chemical Society (2015)
- Clinical & Translational Science Center Novel Award, Weill Cornell Medical College (2014)
- Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation (2011)
- Director's New Innovator Award, National Institutes of Health (2010)
- Alfred W. Bressler Scholar (2010)
- The V Scholar Award, V Foundation for Cancer Research (2009)
Dr. Luo leads an active research laboratory with multiple graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and research technicians. His lab is supported by significant grant funding including the Maximizing Investigators' Research Award from NIGMS/NIH. The laboratory maintains extensive collaborations with structural biologists, computational biologists, cancer biologists, and physicians to develop integrated approaches for studying epigenetic biology and developing cancer therapies. The Luo Lab actively recruits graduate students through the Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology and accepts postdoctoral candidates with backgrounds in biochemistry, organic synthesis, or molecular biology.
The Luo Laboratory operates within the Chemical Biology Program and Center for Experimental Therapeutics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The lab maintains strong affiliations with the Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology and the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, providing comprehensive training opportunities for students across these programs. The research environment emphasizes collaboration between researchers with expertise in chemistry, biochemistry, and biology to develop unprecedented chemical reagents for biological discovery, elucidate disease-causing mechanisms with molecular details, and explore novel treatments against cancer.
