Peng Jiang is an Assistant Professor at Cleveland State University, affiliated with the Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease (GRHD). His research focuses on developing statistical methods and data-driven approaches to analyze genomic and transcriptomic data, with applications in understanding gene regulation, cellular heterogeneity, and human diseases. Dr. Jiang's research interests span statistical bioinformatics, machine learning applications in genomics, network modeling, and single-cell RNA sequencing analysis. His work integrates computational approaches to leverage large-scale omics datasets, aiming to maximize knowledge extraction from complex biological data. He has made significant contributions to the development of methods for quality control of single-cell RNA-seq data, temporal gene expression analysis, and understanding transcriptome dynamics in various biological contexts including embryonic development, neural progenitor cells, and disease models. His publication record reveals a strong focus on methodological development in bioinformatics, particularly for single-cell RNA sequencing analysis. His work has addressed challenges in quality control, temporal analysis, and spatial patterning of gene expression. He has also applied these methods to study various biological systems including stem cell differentiation, neural development, and disease mechanisms across multiple species from axolotl to human models. Dr. Jiang currently leads a research group that includes postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and undergraduate honors students. His lab, the Jiang Lab, seeks "inspired, highly motivated, and curious graduate students" to join their research efforts in computational genomics and bioinformatics.
Patrick Griffin is a Professor and Scientific Director at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Scripps Florida, where he serves in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics. With over 25 years of experience in drug discovery and development, Dr. Griffin has established himself as a leading researcher in protein structure and nuclear receptor signaling. His career spans both industry and academia, with significant contributions to pharmaceutical development including key work on Januvia (a DPP4 inhibitor now in clinical use). Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia under Professor Donald F. Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship with Professor Leroy Hood at Caltech Former Chief Science Officer at ExSAR Corporation Former Senior Director of Chemistry at Merck Research Laboratories Dr. Griffin's research program focuses on understanding nuclear receptor (NR) signaling using structural, chemical and biological approaches. His laboratory has made significant contributions to understanding the mechanism of ligand activation of NRs such as PPARs, RORs, REV-ERBs, LRH1, VDR, ER, GR, and PR. Through the use of mutagenesis, HDX-MS, crystallography, proteomics and genomics, his team studies the structure-function relationships of nuclear receptors, enzymes, and G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). A major emphasis of his chemical biology program is developing functionally selective and promoter-specific modulators targeting diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, obesity, and diabetes. Dr. Griffin's lab is particularly well-known for developing and applying biophysical methods including HDX and XL-MS platforms for analyzing protein plasticity, with a focus on nuclear receptors, enzymes, and GPCRs. Dr. Griffin's recent publications (2022-2025) demonstrate continued innovation in structural proteomics, nuclear receptor biology, and therapeutic development. His work shows a clear trajectory from fundamental protein structure research toward translational applications, particularly in metabolic disorders, cancer, and neurological conditions. A significant theme across his recent work is the development of non-muscle myosin II inhibitors with therapeutic potential, reflecting his long-standing interest in protein structure-function relationships and their therapeutic modulation. His research continues to bridge structural biology, chemical biology, and drug discovery, with particular emphasis on nuclear receptor signaling pathways and their role in metabolic regulation. Dr. Griffin's research impact is evidenced by his publication record of over 240 peer-reviewed manuscripts, an h-index of 83 (58 since 2016), and an i10-index of 223 according to Google Scholar. Dr. Griffin has served as PI, Co-PI, and co-investigator on numerous NIH-funded grants. Notable funding includes leadership of "The Comprehensive Center for Chemical Probe Discovery and Optimization at Scripps," a 6-year U54 MLPCN Roadmap initiative. He co-founded Ember, a biotech company funded by Third Rock Ventures, based on work from a RC4 collaboration with Bruce Spiegelman at Dana Faber. Dr. Griffin has maintained a 13-year collaboration with Eli Lilly and serves as PI on grants with private biotechs including Synkine Therapeutics. As Co-PI on a NIH Blueprint UH3 grant, he co-founded Myosin Therapeutics, whose clinical candidate emerged from this NIH-funded program. Dr. Griffin leads a research program that integrates structural biology, chemical biology, and drug discovery approaches. His laboratory has developed advanced HDX-MS and XL-MS platforms for protein structure analysis. The team's work spans from fundamental protein structure studies to translational drug discovery, with particular expertise in nuclear receptor biology. His lab has made significant contributions to understanding nuclear receptor signaling mechanisms and developing novel therapeutic approaches targeting these pathways.
