Conway Group

Nitric oxide tunes secreted metabolite bioactivity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.05.686753v1

Nitric oxide tunes secreted metabolite bioactivity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.05.686753v1

Orthogonal IMiD-Degron Pairs Induce Selective Protein Degradation in Cells Immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs), including thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide, can be used to induce degradation of a protein of interest that is fused to a short degron motif, which often comprises a zinc finger (ZF). These IMiDs, however, also induce the degradation of endogenous ZF-containing neosubstrates, including IKZF1, IKZF3, and SALL4. To improve degradation selectivity, we took a bump-and-hole approach to design and screen bumped IMiD analogues against 8380 ZF mutants. This yielded a bumped IMiD analogue that induces efficient degradation of a mutant ZF degron, while not affecting other cellular proteins, including IKZF1, IKZF3, and SALL4. In proof-of-concept studies, this system was applied to induce degradation of the optimum degron fused to CDK9, HPRT1, NanoLuc, or TRIM28. We anticipate that this system will be a valuable addition to the current arsenal of degron systems for use in target validation.

Orthogonal IMiD-Degron Pairs Induce Selective Protein Degradation in Cells | ACS Chemical Biology pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

🏆We’ve transformed how we recognise excellence in chemistry to ensure our prizes better reflect today’s science culture.

Our new Reshaping Recognition report to learn how we have modernised our 156-year-old #RSCPrizes portfolio!

Explore the changes: buff.ly/vcxBBHE #ChemSky

Indolequinone-Based Hypoxia-Activated Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras Selectively Degrade BRD4 in Hypoxic Cancer Cells Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) have helped to establish proximity induction as an exciting strategy in drug discovery, and there are multiple clinical trials focused on this modality. Howeve...

Hypoxia-activated PROTACs (HAP-TACs) are online in @jacs.acspublications.org (pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...)! Collborative work with Ester Hammond (@hammond-lab.bsky.social). Congrats to Marta Serafini, Sophie Twigger, George Delfas, Max Mallerman, Elliot Bailey & Ewen Calder (@ecalder.bsky.social).

Great to see you today @sebvidalchem.bsky.social ! And great to welcome you home to UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry (@uclacb.bsky.social)

Where am I?
#ChemSky

Our pre-print on the development of bivalent ligands for the TRIM24 bromodomain & PHD is now online chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...

Congratulations to the authors: Michael Platt, Ekaterina Kot, Louise Martin, Antoine Wallabrègue, Liwen Song, Alistair Boyd, Lizbé Koekemoer, & @hammond-lab.bsky.social

Hello #ChemSky! We're the open preprint server for the global chemistry community and we're glad to be here.

Follow along as we share exciting preprints and engage with the community. Learn more about us: chemrxiv.org

Many congratulations to Sarah Singleton for passing her qualifying exams @uclacb.bsky.social and officially becoming a PhD candidate! Many thanks to her committee members, Profs Backus, Clarke, and Mikkola for their advice and wisdom.

As the active PROTAC is revealed selectively in hypoxia, POI (BRD4) degradation occurs mainly in hypoxia. This technology has the potential to give PROTACs that degrade selectively in hypoxic tumors.

This is collaborative work with @hammond-lab.bsky.social - congratulations to all of the authors.

Our pre-print on hypoxia-activated PROTACs (HAP-TACs) is now on ChemRvix: chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...

We used the indolequinone bioreductive group to protect VHL- or CRBN-recruiting BRD4 degraders rendering them inactive. This group is removed selectively in hypoxia, revealing the active PROTAC.

The UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is excited to welcome Dr. Antonio Tinoco Valencia (Harvard), who will join the @ucla faculty as an Assistant Professor on July 1, 2025. www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/welcomi...

#Hypoxia-activated fluorescent probes as markers of oxygen levels in plant cells and tissues

#PlantScience by Monica Perri, et al.

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@emilyflashman.bsky.social @daanweits.bsky.social @conway-group.bsky.social @hammond-lab.bsky.social

Thank you to the Editors of ACS Bio & Med Chem Au & @conway-group.bsky.social for nominating me. I appreciate the support so early in my career. My lab has some very exciting things in the works I can’t wait to share! 🌟

Many congratulations to Tanya D'Souza, an undergraduate researcher in our lab, who has been awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to continue her research across the summer! Many thanks to the ACS @organicdivision.org for the award of this fellowship and to Genentech for sponsorship.

The Division of Organic Chemistry (DOC) congratulates the sixteen 2025 DOC Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) awardees and gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsors.

zurl.co/x1kZh

In a recent blog, Prof. Osvaldo Gutierrez shares his journey from undocumented UCLA student to chemistry professor and offers advice to a new generation of Bruins.
chemistry.ucla.edu/news/rancho-...

My kids were taught science by the granddaughter of Hans Krebs. When she rode her bike to work I was always amused by seeing the Krebs’ cycle.

Was very pleased to get in a couple of early morning #ChemistsWhoRun runs at #ACSSpring2025 , one with Andrew Scholte and John Gavenonis, and one with Will Pomerantz (@fewill26.bsky.social) catching up on all things epigenetics!

Today there are two symposia at the ACS in honor of Peter Dervan (11AM & 5PM).

Although I can't be there to celebrate, I wanted to share a few reflections on my time in his lab (2009-2012) and the impact he's had on me as a scientist.

A novel photoaffinity probe for analysing the phosphatdylinositol 5-phosphate interactome

Authors: Glen Brodie, Ahmed Sayed, Sarah Kreuz, Wolfgang Fischle, Stuart Conway
DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-llnc4

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024.

That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.

Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

Yes super disappointing.

Not sure. Where would I look?

Great to see this collaborative work with @emilyflashman.bsky.social and @hammond-lab.bsky.social on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social. Using our previously developed hypoxia probes (pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....) to image hypoxia in plants.

@schiff.senate.gov

Great thanks!

If you are attending the Spring ACS Meeting in San Diego, please come and join us on Monday night for a showcase of UCLA research and to meet UCLA students, postdocs, faculty, alumni, and friends! All ACS attendees are welcome! #ChemSky

Join us for the UCLA Research Showcase on 3/24, 5-7 pm at the Spring ACS Meeting in San Diego. Meet UCLA community members, explore posters, discuss science, and enjoy refreshments. All ACS attendees welcome! Please pass this along! RSVP: bit.ly/UCLAACSShowc...