Laboratory of Dr. Daniel Dempsey

The mission of our lab is to understand the basic biological mechanisms of proteins that are essential to human health and disease. Our lab focuses on investigating the structure, function, and regulation of proteins involved in cell signaling, epigenetics, and gene regulation. We use chemical, semi-synthetic, biophysical, and cellular approaches to elucidate mechanisms for how post-translational modifications regulate protein function. We are also interested in advancing new chemical strategies to investigate PTMs and protein function.

Our current focus is on understanding the function and regulation of deubiquitinases and RNA-modifying proteins, which are emerging as attractive therapeutic targets in several cancers. Our work will shed light on the mechanistic consequence of PTMs, and how dysregulation of these proteins may lead to disease. Our goal is that these findings will pave the way for the rational design of new therapies for the treatment of cancer.