Shuang LIU

Molecular Glues for Chemical Biology and Therapeutics
PhD – Chemical Biology, University of Oxford

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shuang-liu18/
Lab page: www.liuslab.com

SUMMARY

Shuang is a National Science Scholarship (BS-PhD) scholar and obtained her undergraduate degree in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry from Imperial College London. She then spent a year at A*STAR’s Experimental Therapeutics Centre, where she identified several exploratory and lead-stage compounds against various therapeutic targets using fragment-based screening. Shuang completed her DPhil in Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford under the guidance of Prof. Christopher Schofield, focusing on mechanistic and inhibition studies of oncogenic variants of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1. She then moved to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard/Harvard University for her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. Stuart Schreiber, where she pioneered the rational discovery of bifunctional and molecular glue-like compounds using DNA-encoded library screening. This work was among the first to systematically identify molecular glues using a high-throughput platform. Shuang returned to IMCB in 2023 to start her independent research on molecular glue discovery. Her work is supported by the A*STAR Young Achiever Award and the National Research Foundation Fellowship.

KEY AWARDS & GRANTS

2025: National Research Foundation Fellowship
2023: A*STAR Young Achiever’s Award

RESEARCH

The current bottleneck in drug discovery is the challenge of targeting 80% of the human proteome once considered undruggable. Molecular glues are small molecules that induce non-native interactions between proteins, enabling the modulation of key cellular processes such as protein degradation, inhibition, activation, and stabilisation. Despite their immense therapeutic potential, molecular glue discovery has largely been serendipitous.

At IMCB, we use DNA-encoded library screening to systematically discover new molecular glues. Our research aims to harness their potential to overcome drug resistance, inhibit previously intractable protein-protein interactions, stabilise proteins, and modulate post-translational modifications. By bridging the gap between biological discoveries and drug development, we advance chemical biology to deepen our understanding of fundamental biological processes, and drive promising hits and leads towards preclinical and clinical candidates.

PUBLICATIONS

DNA-encoded library-enabled discovery of proximity-inducing small molecules.
J. W. Mason, Y. T. Chow, L. Hudson, A. Tutter, G. Michaud, M. V. Westphal, W. Shu, X. Ma, Z. Y. Tan, C. W. Coley, P. A. Clemons, S. Bonazzi, F. Berst, K. Briner, S. Liu*, F. J. Zécri*, S. L. Schreiber*. (2024)
Nat. Chem. Biol., 20, 170–179 (*co-corresponding)

Rational Screening for Cooperativity in Small-Molecule Inducers of Protein–Protein Associations.
S. Liu*, B. Tong, J. W. Mason, J. O. Ostrem, A. Tutter, B. K. Hua, S. A. Tang, S. Bonazzi, K. Briner, F. Berst, F. J. Zécri, S. L. Schreiber*. (2023)
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 145 (42), 23281–23291 (*co-corresponding)
Differentiating Inhibition Selectivity and Binding Affinity of Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1 Variant Inhibitors.
S. Liu, M. Abboud, V. Mikhailov, X. Liu, R. Reinbold, C. J. Schofield. (2023)
J. Med. Chem., 66, 5279–5288

Roles of metal ions in the selective inhibition of oncogenic variants of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1.
S. Liu, M. I. Abboud, T. John, V. Mikhailov, I. Hvinden, J. Walsby-Tickle, X. Liu, I. Petinatti, T. Cadoux-Hudson, J. S. O. McCullagh, C. J. Schofield. (2021)
Commun. Biol. 4, 1243
Isocitrate dehydrogenase variants in cancer — Cellular consequences and therapeutic opportunities.
S. Liu, T. Cadoux-Hudson, C. J. Schofield. (2020)
Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 57, 122–134

Shuang LIU

A*STAR celebrates International Women's Day