Qinheng joined the lab in 2016.

zheng pic

My research focuses on the most common oncogene, K-Ras. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most lethal common cancer due to a lack of early diagnosis in disease and the lack of targeted or immune therapies. A high percentage (>90%) of PDAC harbors K-Ras mutations with the majority expressing the K-Ras(G12D) missense mutation. By dissecting the chemical reactivity and protein structure of G12D, I aim to develop small-molecule inhibitors capable of switching off the persistently active downstream signaling.