Aaron Wecksler
Technical Development Senior Principal Scientist, Protein Analytical Chemistry / Process Technical Development
"The Next Generation Patient needs the Next Generation Scientist"
I started working at Genentech as a full time employee in 2014, after receiving my PhD from UC Santa Cruz, and performing NIH-funded postdoctoral research through the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. To date, my time at Genentech has been within the Protein Analytical Chemistry Department, focused on end-to-end, biotherapeutic characterization for early and late stage clinical molecules.
In addition to pipeline contributions, I have pioneered novel mass spectrometry-based technologies for protein structural elucidations, such as hydroxyl radical protein footprinting. This technology enables detailed understanding of molecular interfaces and structural changes that can aid in drug discovery and biotherapeutic development.
Postdoctoral Mentor
There is no greater privilege than mentoring talented young scientist, and I have been fortunate to mentor multiple postdoctoral fellows at Genentech. I take great pride in guiding young scientist along their scientific paths, watching their curiosity blossom, and assisting in their external influence with presentations and publications.
Featured Publication
Antibody-receptor interactions mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.
J Biol Chem. 2021
Yue Sun, Saeed Izadi, Matthew Callahan, Galahad Deperalta, Aaron T Wecksler
As the Analytical Lead for multiple clinical molecules, my responsibilities include performing thorough analytical characterization of the heterogeneity of biotherapeutic molecules, identifying critical quality attributes, method development and qualification, and working cross-functionally to drive clinical and commercial process development.
My research focus is to understand and characterize higher order structure of proteins. The structure of a protein is linked to the function and stability of the molecule. By utilizing a multifaceted approach, we characterize structural interfaces, unique attributes, perturbations, and post-translational modifications to aid in drug discovery, in silico modeling/predictions, and biotherapeutic development.
- University of California, Santa Cruz, PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry – 2009
- University of California, Santa Cruz, BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – 2002
- NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award – 2009