Project: Cytosolix: novel small molecule oncology drugs that target a universal biomarker of solid tumors

Project: Improving Small Molecule Therapy Through Targeted Drug Delivery to Solid Tumors

John Deacon’s work aims to revolutionize the way cancer drugs are designed, building in tumor-targeted drug delivery for 95% of cancers through a simple chemical change that can be applied to nearly every class of cancer therapy.   He received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in Molecular Cellular & Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.   John joined Yale in 2012 as a postdoc in the lab of Don Engelman.  The Engelman Lab’s research focuses on an underappreciated characteristic of cancer biology – tumor acidity.  During his postdoctoral research to develop the Engelman Lab’s pHLIP technology for drug delivery, John made a discovery that launched his own research trajectory.  John invented a way to impart tumor-targeted delivery on virtually every class of small molecule drugs with just a small chemical change, producing the first orally bioavailable platform for tumor-targeted drug delivery.  John has led the development of his technology, raising over $1.5M in funding since 2015, both within the Engelman Lab and independently, and managing a large collaborative research effort.