Ashraf Brik, PhD, Professor

Chemical and Semi-synthesis of Post-translationally Modified Proteins. Our lab is interested in developing novel synthetic methods as well as utilizing the available state of art approaches to prepare site-specifically modified proteins for biochemical, biophysical, and functional analyses.

Studying the Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin Like Modifiers Signals Using Chemical Biology Approaches.

The recent breakthrough in chemical and semisynthetic approaches reported by our group makes it possible now to assemble ubiquitin chains and ubiquitinated peptides and proteins in high purity and large quantities. As a result, great opportunities have now become available for chemical biologists and biologists to study the ubiquitin signal at the molecular level to reveal unknown aspects of this amazing and diverse signal.

Modulating the activities of enzymes and signaling proteins using Small Molecules, Peptides and Peptidomimetics. My lab is interested in developing novel strategies to modulate various enzymes using different types of chemical entities. For example, the group is interested in studying and inhibiting deubiquitinases (DUBs). These enzymes have been implicated in various diseases, including neurological disorders, infectious diseases, and cancer.

In Addition, in our ERC funded advanced project we aim to develop a general approach for enabling considerably more detailed in-cell study of those uniquely modified proteins.