Damon Runyon Researchers

Dr. Tang is interested in discovering small-molecule inhibitor drugs that target human immune-checkpoint proteins, including programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), using a combination of biochemistry, protein engineering, structural biology and immunology approaches. These small-molecule inhibitors would offer safety advantages resulting from their much shorter half-lives as compared to FDA-approved monoclonal antibody therapies, and possibly also offer efficacy advantages resulting from increased penetration and distribution within the tumor microenvironment. His work has broad implications for the development of a novel methodology for small-molecule drug discovery and the design of new cancer immunotherapies.