703: Using Chemical Genetics to Understand Cell Signaling Networks to Treat Human Diseases - Dr. Kevan Shokat

People Behind the Science Podcast - Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers

Dr. Kevan M. Shokat is Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California San Francisco, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley, and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Kevan’s lab uses approaches from chemistry to address unsolved challenges and opportunities for discovery in biology and medicine. His goal is to apply chemistry to biology in the most impactful, interesting, and meaningful ways while pursuing his curiosity. The lab has been investigating key signaling proteins in diseases such as cancer to develop new treatments. When he’s not working, Kevan enjoys spending time with family, cycling with his friends, getting exercise, being out in nature, and reading biographies of scientists. Kevan received his B.A in chemistry from Reed College and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Afterwards, he received a Life Sciences Research Foundation Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at Stanford University, and he served on the faculty at Princeton University before joining the faculty at his current institutions. Kevan has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including the 2023 Sjöberg Prize from the The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the 2023 National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery, the 2023 Howard Vollum Award for Distinguished Accomplishment in Science and Technology from his alma mater Reed College, the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research, and many others. He was also named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, a Searle Scholar, a Cottrell Scholar, a Glaxo-Wellcome Scholar in Organic Chemistry, and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow. In addition, Kevan is an elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Member of the National Academy of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In our interview, he shares more about his life and science.