Claus Kemker
Position: PhD Student
Room no.: CP-02-112
Telephone no.: +49 231 755 7056
Member of the group since: 10/2024
University Degree: M. Sc. in Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund
Expertise: Chemical Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, Drug design, Organic synthesis, Structure-activity relationship, DNA-encoded libraries
Off-Lab activities (hobbies): Volleyball, Marching Band, Hiking, Reading
Research projects:
The tumor suppressor protein p53 plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular genomic integrity by regulating cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, senescence, and DNA repair in response to cellular stress. Mutations or inactivation of p53 occur in approximately 50% of all human cancers, making it an interesting and important target for cancer biology.
In my project, I am working on the development of covalent binders specifically designed to target mutated p53 and to modulate its function. Covalent binders offer several advantages, including irreversible target engagement, enhanced potency, and prolonged duration of action due to their ability to form stable covalent bonds with reactive residues in the target protein.
Earlier positions:
Bachelor studies in the group of PD Dr. Andreas Brunschweiger (TU Dortmund) in the field of DNA-encoded libraries
Master studies in the group of Dr. Peng Wu (Chemical Genomics Centre, MPI for Molecular Physiology, Dortmund) dealing with bioactive small molecules targeting RNA-binding proteins
Working student at Serengen GmbH (Dortmund) in the field of DNA-encoded libraries
Synthetic Chemist at WMT AG (Heidelberg) in the field of Medicinal Chemistry
Publications:
- Liu, G. L. Goebel, L. Kanis, O. Hastürk, C. Kemker, P. Wu* Aminothiazolone Inhibitors Disrupt the Protein-RNA Interaction of METTL16 and Modulate the m6A RNA Modification, JACS Au 2024, 4, 4, 1436-1449, https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.3c00832.