Jawahar Sudhamsu
Director & Senior Principal Scientist, Structural Biology and Discovery Oncology (Joint Appointment), Drug Discovery
"I am motivated by our collaborative culture, and inspired by my colleagues who challenge existing paradigms and pursue innovative research."
I started at Genentech as a postdoctoral fellow in 2009 studying molecular mechanisms of signaling networks (TNF family, MAPK pathway). I am attracted to Genentech’s culture where everyone can explore new ideas and innovate. Being in a core function such as the Department of Structural Biology at Genentech provides an opportunity to be exposed to all therapeutic areas at Genentech. The freedom to pursue basic research in areas important for human health in addition to actively supporting drug discovery programs makes Genentech a special place in the industry.
Postdoctoral Mentor
The postdoctoral program keeps Genentech at the leading edge of biomedical research and often feeds into the company portfolio. Being a postdoc mentor is extremely rewarding to me. I enjoy witnessing all Genentech postdocs that I interact with develop as researchers and the enthusiasm they bring to doing exceptional scientific research motivates me. The biennial postdoc offsite is certainly among the best research conferences I attend.
Featured Publication
Negative regulation of RAF kinase activity by ATP is overcome by 14-3-3-induced dimerization.
Nat Struct Mol Biol 27, 134–141 (2020).
Nicholas P. D. Liau, Timothy J. Wendorff, John G. Quinn, Micah Steffek, Wilson Phung, Peter Liu, Jia Tang, Flaviyan J. Irudayanathan, Saeed Izadi, Andrey S. Shaw, Shiva Malek, Sarah G. Hymowitz & Jawahar Sudhamsu.
Structure of the BRAF-MEK Complex Reveals a Kinase Activity Independent Role for BRAF in MAPK Signaling
Volume 26, Issue 3, 8 September 2014, Pages 402-413
Jacob R. Haling, Jawahar Sudhamsu, Ivana Yen, Steve Sideris, Wendy Sandoval, Wilson Phung, Brandon J. Bravo, Anthony M. Giannetti, Ariana Peck, Alexandre Masselot, Tony Morales, Darin Smith, Barbara J. Brandhuber, Sarah G. Hymowitz, Shiva Malek.
My area of expertise is protein biochemistry and structural biology. My group utilizes various structural methods (X-ray crystallography, Cryo-EM) and protein biochemistry to study interactions of macromolecules and contribute to better understanding of signaling events in human disease and to drug discovery. In addition, we identify bottlenecks and develop technology to accelerate research processes in an effort to enable and speed up basic research and drug discovery.
My research interests focus on molecular mechanisms of signaling in cancer. These signaling cascades are tightly regulated and fine-tuned for promoting growth when needed. Not surprisingly, cancer cells take advantage of these effective cascades by overcoming multiple regulatory mechanisms. By understanding the molecular mechanisms of signaling in a healthy and cancerous cell, my hope is that we will be better able to design more effective therapies.
- Genentech, Department of Structural Biology, Postdoctoral Fellow – 2014
- Cornell University, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Ph. D. – 2009
- Indian Institute of Technology, Chemistry, Integrated M. Sc – 2003