Research Program and Theme
Cancer Engineering and Biological Systems | Anticancer Chemistry
Research Focus
Paul J. Hergenrother, Ph.D., is a Professor of Chemistry and an Affiliate in Biochemistry, and the Kenneth L. Rinehart Jr. Endowed Chair in Natural Products Chemistry. The Hergenrother laboratory seeks to use small molecules to identify and validate novel targets for treating intractable cancers. Cancer patients are taking an anticancer compound discovered by the Hergenrother lab at the University of Illinois Cancer Center and Johns Hopkins as part of a Phase 1 clinical trial. At the University of Illinois, Professor Hergenrother is the Leader of the IGB Theme “Anticancer Discovery from Pets to People” and is the Director of the NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Grant. Hergenrother is also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Vanquish Oncology.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1999
Campus Affiliations
- Kenneth Rinehart Jr. Endowed Chair, Chemistry
- Professor, Chemistry
- Deputy Director, Cancer Center at Illinois, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation
- Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
- Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
- Professor, Micro and Nanotechnology Lab
Select Honors and Recognitions
- NAI Fellow, 2020
- AAAS Fellow, 2019
- NSF CAREER Award, 2002
- Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, 2017
- Sato Memorial International Award, 2019