Ke Cheng, PhD

Ke Cheng, PhD

UCSF Profiles

Biography

I am a chemical biologist with a strong background in organic chemistry, bioconjugation, protein biology, and oncology. My research focuses on developing chemical tools and strategies to advance small-molecule probes/drugs, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), and radioligand agents for targeted cancer therapies. In the area of ADC development, I have designed and developed new cleavable linkers and next-generation payloads, including molecular glues, PROTACs, protein translation inhibitors, and kinase inhibitors. For functional probe development, I have created tumor-activatable probes and radioligand therapies to enable precise cancer diagnostics and targeted treatment. In small-molecule drug discovery, I applied diverse chemical groups, such as tetrazoles, isoxazoles, and trioxolanes, to build screening libraries and to profile druggable protein targets using chemoproteomics.

Interests
  • Antibody-Drug Conjugates
  • Small-Molecule Drugs & Probes
  • Targeted Cancer Treatment
  • Chemoproteomics
Education

  • PhD in Chemical Biology, 2021

    City University of Hong Kong

Professional Experience

 
 
 
 
 
University of California San Francisco
Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California San Francisco
January 2024 – Present San Francisco

Projects include:

  • Developing next-generation CD46 targeting antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for prostate cancer.
  • Developing novel small-molecule chemical probes and drugs for infectious disease treatment, new druggable target identification, and targeted radioligand therapies & chemotherapies for cancer treatment.
  • Related publication: PNAS 2024, 121(28), e2401579121; ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 15(10), 1764–1770.
 
 
 
 
 
Sun Yat-sen University
Postdoctoral Researcher
Sun Yat-sen University
November 2022 – November 2023 Guangzhou

Projects include:

  • Development of activatable small-molecule probes and nanomedicines aimed at targeted protein degradation and cancer treatment.
  • Representative publication: Biomaterials 2022, 291, 121916; Chem. Eng. J. 2023, 472, 144977.
 
 
 
 
 
City University of Hong Kong
PhD Student & Research Associate
City University of Hong Kong
September 2018 – September 2022 Hong Kong

Projects include:

  • Development of small-molecule fluorescent probes for cancer theranostics, and the creation of novel photochemical tools to facilitate drug discovery and identification of druggable targets. Conducted interdisciplinary research at the interface of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry to support advances in targeted cancer therapy.
  • Representative publication: Biomaterials 2022, 291, 121916; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61(47), e202209947.

Recent Publications

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Matthew T. Klope, Juan A. Tapia Cardona, Jun Chen, Ryan L. Gonciarz, Ke Cheng, PhD, Priyadarshini Jaishankar, Julie Kim, Jenny Legac, Philip J. Rosenthal, Adam R. Renslo (2024). Synthesis and In Vivo Profiling of Desymmetrized Antimalarial Trioxolanes with Diverse Carbamate Side Chains. In ACS Med. Chem. Lett. 2024.

PDF Cite DOI American Chemical Society

Lingkuan Meng, Jiecong Lin, Ke Cheng, PhD, Kui Xu, Hongyan Sun, Ka-Chun Wong (2024). UniPTM: Multiple PTM site prediction on full-length protein sequence. In bioRxiv 2024.08.03.606471.

PDF Cite DOI bioRxiv Source Code

Aidan T. Pezacki, Ryan L. Gonciarz, Toshitaka Okamura, Carson D. Matier, Laura Torrente, Ke Cheng, PhD, Sophia G. Miller, Martina Ralle, Nathan P. Ward, Gina M. DeNicola, Adam R. Renslo, Christopher J. Chang (2024). A tandem activity-based sensing and labeling strategy reveals antioxidant response element regulation of labile iron pools. In PNAS 2024, 121(28), e2401579121.

PDF Cite DOI PNAS PubMed

Xiaojie Ren, Haokun Li, Hui Peng, Yang Yang, Hang Su, Chen Huang, Xuan Wang, Jie Zhang, Zhiyang Liu, Wenyu Wei, Ke Cheng, PhD, Tianyang Zhu, Zhenpin Lu, Zhengqiu Li, Qian Zhao, Ben Zhong Tang, Shao Q Yao, Xiangzhi Song, Hongyan Sun (2024). Reactivity-Tunable Fluorescent Platform for Selective and Biocompatible Modification of Cysteine or Lysine. In Adv. Sci. 2024, 11, 2402838.

PDF Cite DOI Wiley Press PubMed

Pingzhou Wu, Zheng Qu, Jie Zhang, Xiaojie Ren, Dongqing Wang, Chen Huang, Ke Cheng, PhD, Junyang Qi, Heng Shi, Shenglong Gan, Wenyu Wei, Yachao Zhang, Chun-Sing Lee, Lidai Wang, Hongyan Sun (2024). A General Cyanine-Based Platform for Designing Robust Dual-Channel Near-Infrared Fluorescent and Photoacoustic Probes. In Adv. Funct. Mater. 2024, 2400597.

PDF Cite DOI Wiley Online Library

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Recent Posts

Exploring the Frontiers of Scientific Discovery
Welcome to ChengResearch, my personal research website! I am thrilled to share with you my passion for scientific exploration and discovery. Here, you will find a window into the world of research that has fueled my curiosity and led me on a journey to unravel the mysteries of the universe.
Ke Cheng, PhD
Last updated on Sep 21, 2023 2 min read
Exploring the Frontiers of Scientific Discovery

Contact

I’m delighted to collaborate with researchers worldwide to address important questions and make meaningful advancements. Feel free to contact me via email or social media.