Chemical Biology Program

The Derek Tan Lab

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Research

Derek Tan, research lab head
Derek Tan, PhD
Chair, Chemical Biology Program, SKI; Tri-Institutional Professor; Eugene W. Kettering Chair

Professor

The identification of small-molecule probes and therapeutic lead compounds to address novel biological targets is a significant current challenge in chemical biology and drug discovery. We are engaged in a two-pronged approach to this problem involving diversity-oriented synthesis and rational design as complementary approaches to ligand discovery. Our work in both of these areas is influenced at multiple levels by insights from natural products. At the core of these efforts is the development of new chemical methodologies to provide flexible, efficient, systematic access to these structures. We leverage multidisciplinary collaborations with biologists to evaluate these molecules to probe key biological processes and to explore new therapeutic opportunities in cancer and infectious diseases. Our group is strongly committed to promoting diversity and inclusion at all levels and welcomes scientists from all backgrounds!

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Research Projects

VIDEO | 02:08
Go inside the lab of Derek Tan from SKI's Chemical Biology Program.
Video Details
Tan Group 2019

Featured News

SKI scientists David Scheinberg and Derek Tan
Sloan Kettering Institute Scientists Retool CAR T Cells to Serve as ‘Micropharmacies’ for Cancer Drugs
These souped-up versions may help overcome some limitations of existing CAR T cells.
Derek Tan, PhD
Science Spotlight: Experience the Drug Discovery Journey with Derek Tan, PhD
The June 15 edition of “MSK Science Spotlight,” features Derek Tan, PhD discussing “A Drug Discovery Journey from Tuberculosis to Cancer.”
In the Lab
Test tubes and glass vials and beakers sit on a desk in a laboratory.
New Chemical Biology Program Brings Power of Chemistry to Biomedical Research
A new Sloan Kettering Institute program will enhance the use of chemical principles to investigate biological processes.

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Publications Highlights

Design and semisynthesis of biselectrophile-functionalized ubiquitin probes to investigate transthioesterification reactions.
Kochańczyk, T.; Hann, Z. S.; Lux, M. C.; Delos Reyes, A. M. V.; Ji, C.; Tan, D. S.* ; Lima, C. D.* Nature 2024, 633, 216–223.
[ Abstract | PubMed | PMC ]

Design and semisynthesis of biselectrophile-functionalized ubiquitin probes to investigate transthioesterification reactions.
Delos Reyes, A. M. V. †; Lux, M. C. †; Hann, Z. S. †; Ji, C.; Kochańczyk, T.; DiBello, M.; Lima, C. D.*; Tan, D. S.* Org. Lett. 2024, 26, 4594–4599.
[ Abstract | PubMed | PMC ]

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People

Derek Tan, research lab head

Derek Tan, PhD

Chair, Chemical Biology Program, SKI; Tri-Institutional Professor; Eugene W. Kettering Chair

Professor

  • Derek Tan’s lab studies diversity-oriented synthesis and rational drug design of probes and lead compounds for chemical biology and drug discovery.
  • BS, Stanford University
  • PhD, Harvard University
[email protected]
Email Address
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Members

Derek Tan, PhD
Derek Tan

Member and Lab Head

Kristin Hulsaver

Assistant to Chair

Yaritza Molina
Yaritza Molina

Administrative Assistant

Christian Cook

Research Technician

Nicholas Duran

Research Technician

Raphael Geißen

Graduate Student

Fabian Krutzek

Postdoctoral Fellow

Elijah Mugabe

Graduate Student

Christopher Nieves-Escobar

Graduate Student

Pooja Pandya

Graduate Student

Kun Ho Park

Postdoctoral Fellow

Grace Hylton

Summer Intern

Niklas Rauscher

Postdoctoral Fellow

Lab Alumni
Renato Bauer

Graduate Student

Melissa Boby
Melissa Boby

Graduate Student

Justin Cisar

Graduate Student

Broderick Corless
Broderick Corless

Graduate Student

Tony Davis

Graduate Student

Avelyn Delos Reyes

Graduate Student

Christopher Evans

Graduate Research Assistant

Jonghan Peter Lee

Graduate Student

Sirkka Moilanen Stephan

Graduate Student

Justin Potuzak

Graduate Student

Sharanya Rajagopal

Graduate Student

Shiying Shang

Graduate Student

Lisa Standke
Lisa Standke

Graduate Student

Christopher Stratton

Graduate Student

Alyssa Verano

Graduate Research Assistant

Michaelyn Lux
Michaelyn Lux

Graduate Student

Kyle Planck

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Gianna Stella

TPCB Rotation Student

Kha Nguyen
Kha Nguyen

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Jacqueline Wurst

Graduate Student

Joshua Brooks

Postdoctoral Fellow

Chad Hatch
Chad Hatch

Postdoctoral Fellow

Yao Xu , PhD
Yao Xu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Shalini Balakrishnan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Maria Chiriac, PhD
Maria Chiriac

Postdoctoral Fellow

Christine DiBlasi

Postdoctoral Fellow

Corinne Foley

Postdoctoral Fellow

Tezcan Guney, PhD
Tezcan Guney

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jessica Hurtak, PhD
Jessica Hurtak

Postdoctoral Fellow

Indrajeet Sharma

Postdoctoral Fellow

Cheng Ji

Postdoctoral Fellow

Nihar Kinarivala
Nihar Kinarivala

Postdoctoral Fellow

Felix Kopp

Postdoctoral Fellow

Guodong Liu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Xuequan Lu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Daniel Macks

Postdoctoral Fellow

Gustavo Moura-Letts

Postdoctoral Fellow

Alberto Muñoz
Alberto Muñoz

Postdoctoral Fellow

Debarshi Pratihar

Postdoctoral Fellow

Christina Rotsides

Research Scholar

Jae-Sang Ryu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Shibin Zhao, PhD
Shibin Zhao

Postdoctoral Fellow

Daniel Tao

Research Scholar

Manuel Schupp

Postdoctoral Fellow

Todd Wenderski

Postdoctoral Fellow

Okan Yildirim
Okan Yildirim

Postdoctoral Fellow

Kwesi Amoa

Visiting Scientist

Mark Coster

Visiting Scientist (2013)

Hayato Iwadare

Visiting Scientist

Jeffrey Rothman

Visiting Scientist

Kory Byrns

MD Summer Research Student

Mia Chung

Research Technician

Dipti Barman

Research Associate

Farhan Chowdhury
Farhan Chowdhury

Research Assistant

Chun Tracy Liu

Research Assistant

Julian Maceren
Julian Maceren

Research Assistant

Samantha Stone

Research Assistant

Steven Pak

Research Assistant

James Rogér

Research Assistant

Marcus Williams
Marcus Williams

Summer Intern

Sean Abbott

Summer Intern

Jay Alsinawi

Summer Intern

Lisa Ambrosini

Summer Intern

Neal Amin

Summer Intern

Susan Xue Bai

Summer Intern

Matthew Boudreau

Summer Intern

Caitlin Conant

Summer Intern

Mikaela DiBello
Mikaela DiBello

Summer Intern

Alice Fok

Summer Intern

Derek Garcia

Summer Intern

Christopher Gerry

Summer Intern

Eun Bin Go

Summer Intern

Maya Huffman

Summer Intern

Ruofei Faye Li

Summer Intern

Emily Lim

Summer Intern

Leon Moskatel

Summer Intern

Nevena Popovic

Summer Intern

Anna Soltys

Summer Intern

Amanda Ramdular

Summer Intern

Alex Rerick

Summer Intern

Lanie Wang

Summer Intern

Campbell Echols

Administrative Assistant

Ayo Shanti

Administrative Assistant

Eleanor Allen

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Tran Hoang

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Alana Williams

TPCB Rotation Student

Gil Blum

TPCB Rotation Student

Elliott Brea

MD-PhD Rotation Student

Chan Hee Choi

MD-PhD Rotation Student (2013)

Zhi’ang Chen

TPCB Rotation Student

Ethan Chiang

TPCB Rotation Student

Adam Cohen

TPCB Rotation Student

Paul Dossa

TPCB Rotation Student

Paolo Esquivel

TPCB Rotation Student

Jarrod French

TPCB Rotation Student

Elizabeth George Cisar

TPCB Rotation Student

Alec Goffin

TPCB Rotation Student

Amrita Hazra

TPCB Rotation Student

Jakob Hebert

TPCB Rotation Student

Alexis Jaramillo

TPCB Rotation Student

Zeinul Kazhkenov

TPCB Rotation Student

Muris Kobaslija

TPCB Rotation Student

Michael Langberg

GSK Rotation Student

Christina Maksymiuk

Pharm Rotation Student

Jason Morton

TPCB Rotation Student

Pengju Nie, BS
Pengju Nie

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Inish O'Doherty

TPCB Rotation Student

Maxim Oleynikov

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Jeremy Paige

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Robert Scott

TPCB Student

Aidan Wirrick

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Nathaniel Park

TPCB Rotation Student

Julie Pickett

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Rudolph Pisa

TPCB Rotation Student

Cristina Santarossa

TPCB Rotation Student

Shi Chen

TPCB Rotation Student (2013)

Kam Siu

TPCB Rotation Student

Adam Rosenzweig

TPCB Rotation Student

Kate Ryan

GSK Rotation Student

Kaylyn Spotton

TPCB Rotation Student

Michael Stokes

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Caitlin Strain

TPCB Rotation Student

Taku Tsukidate

TPCB Rotation Student

Noah Yardeny

TPCB Rotation Student

Svena Verma
Svena Verma

Pharmacology Rotation Student

John Wallach

MD-PhD Rotation Student

Evelyn Warner, BA
Evelyn Warner

TPCB Rotation Student

Isa Watson
Isa Watson

Pharmacology Rotation Student

Lina Yi

TPCB Rotation Student

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

  • Development of salicyl-AMS, a novel antibacterial agent to treat tuberculosis and other infections
  • Louise and Allston Boyer Young Investigator Award for Basic Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2010)
  • Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences (2013)

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs

Career Opportunities

Training opportunities in the Tan lab.

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Derek Tan discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Adjuvance Technologies
    Intellectual Property Rights
  • Aflac Inc.
    Equity
  • Amgen
    Equity
  • CoImmune, Inc.
    Equity; Intellectual Property Rights; Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • CVS Caremark Corp
    Equity
  • Institute for Research in Biomedicine Barcelona
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Medtronic
    Equity
  • Merck & Co Inc.
    Equity
  • Moderna, Inc.
    Equity
  • Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
    Equity
  • Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM)
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Solventum Corporation
    Equity
  • Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute
    Fiduciary Role / Position
  • UnitedHealth Group
    Equity

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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