Research

Dr. Shaomeng Wang has been working on the discovery and development of novel small molecules therapeutics for more than 20 years.

One area of research has been focused on targeting protein-protein interactions which regulate apoptosis, including the PPIs between the anti-death Bcl-2 and pro-death Bcl-2 members, the MDM2-p53 PPI, and the PPI of IAP proteins with Smac.

Dr. Wang's lab research in targeting apoptosis has resulted in the discovery and advancement of 8 compounds in to Phase I/II clinical development targeting Bcl-2/Bcl-xL, DM2 and IAP proteins. In more recent years, Dr Wang has expanded my research program to target a number of PPIs, which regulate epigenetics, including histone readers, writers and erasers, and have advanced several classes of compounds into advanced preclinical development. To accomplish our goals of discovering highly optimized compounds suitable for clinical development and rapidly advancing them into clinical development, Dr. Wang has established extensive collaborations with basic scientists, translational scientists and clinical investigators at UMCCC and in other institutions. I have co-founded five UM start-up companies to help us to bring our drugs into clinical development and marketplace.


Contribution to Science:

  • Discovery of development of small-molecule antagonists of inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) or Smac mimetics for the treatment of human cancer

  • Discovery of development of small-molecule inhibitors and degraders to block the MDM2-p53 protein-protein interaction for cancer treatment

  • Discovery of development of small-molecule inhibitors to block the anti-death and pro-death Bcl-2 protein-protein interactions for the treatment of human cancer

  • Discovery of development of small-molecule inhibitors to block the WDR5-MLL1 protein-protein interaction for the treatment of acute leukemia carrying MLL1 fusion protein

  • Discovery and Development of Small-Molecule PROTAC Degraders


The X-Score Program

For information on X-Score please use this link:

http://www.umich.edu/~shaomengwanglab/software/xtool/manual/

If you wish to obtain the source code for X-Score, please first fill out the license agreement:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScd7Tyny_crdFHn7ITZPrYsM9mBh5JdmvGpqWakRuBvDuLy9w/viewform