iCAN science seminar on Overcoming Undruggable Nature of Most Common Human Oncogene, K-Ras with Prof. Kevan Shokat
Welcome to the iCAN science seminar with Professor Kevan Shokat (UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute) on Overcoming Undruggable Nature of Most Common Human Oncogene, K-Ras.
When: Tue 20.5.2025 at 14:30-15:30
Where: Biomedicum 1, seminar room 3, and online
Zoom-link (Meeting ID: 648 0498 6682 Passcode: 366409)
Hosts: Olli Silvennoinen, Ville Paavilainen, Rafa Najumudeen
If you wish to meet with Prof. Shokat during his visit, please contact Rafa Najumudeen (arafath.najumudeen@helsinki.fi).
Abstract: Somatic mutations in the small GTPase K-Ras are the most common activating lesions found in human cancer and are generally associated with poor response to standard therapies. Efforts to directly target this oncogene have faced difficulties due to its picomolar affinity for GTP/GDP and the absence of known allosteric regulatory sites. In the seminar, prof. Shokat will discuss the development of small molecules that irreversibly bind to a common oncogenic mutant, K-Ras G12C. These compounds rely on the mutant cysteine for binding and therefore do not affect the wild type protein (WT). Prof. Shokat will also discuss ways to leverage immune cell killing of K-Ras G12C cells treated by combining small molecule inhibitors and bi-specific T-Cell engagers.
Prof. Shokat is a great speaker and his talk will be of relevance and interest for translational biomedicine, chemical biology, protein biochemistry and clinical medicine.
Professor Shokat is a pioneer of modern chemical biology, using innovative approaches to develop powerful molecular tools to advance basic knowledge and combat devastating diseases. Shokat´s research has shifted the paradigm of targeted cancer therapy by drugging an “undruggable” protein and paving the way for future advances. In 2013 Shokat described the concept of targeting the most common human oncogene K-Ras. The 1st Ras drug sotorasib was approved in 2021 for non-small cell lung cancer, and presently they are developing drugs for KRAS mutations common in colorectal and pancreatic cancer. In addition, to small GTPases, Prof. Shokat has contributed to chemical tools and new drugs targeting protein kinases using a combination of protein engineering and organic chemical synthesis. His discoveries have thus far been commercialized by approximately 10 companies.
Prof. Shokat is a member of National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recipient of numerous awards, e.g. Sjöberg Prize in 2023.
Come early for a cup of coffee and pulla!
For more information on the science seminar series, please contact ican-comms@helsinki.fi