James A. Wells, PhD

Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSF
Harry Wm. and Diana V. Hind Distinguished Professorship in Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSF

jim.wells@ucsf.edu

Phone: (415) 514-4498 (voice)
Box 2330, UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94158-2330

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Additional Websites

• Lab Website

Education

University of California, Berkeley, CA, B.A., 1973, Biochemistry
Washington State University, Ph.D., 1979, Biochemistry
Washington State University, Postdoc, 1979-1980, Chemistry
Stanford University Medical School, Postdoc, 1980-1982, Biochemistry

Professional Experience

• 1982-1986
  Scientist, Genentech, Inc., Dept. of Protein Engineering
• 1986-1989
  Senior Scientist, Genentech, Inc., Dept. of Protein Engineering
• 1989-1998
  Staff Scientist, Genentech, Inc., Dept. of Protein Engineering
• 1988-2005
  Adjunct Asst, Assoc, and Full Professor, University of California, San Francisco, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
• 1998-2005
  President and CSO, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals
• 2005-present
  Harry Wm. and Diana V. Hind Distinguished Professorship in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
• 2005-present
  Director, Small Molecule Discovery Center, University of California, San Francisco

Honors & Awards

• 1979-1981
  Damon M. Runyon - Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 1990
  Pfizer Award (given by the American Chemical Society for achievements in enzyme chemistry)
• 1998
  Recipient of the Christian B. Anfinsin Award presented by the Protein Society
• 1998
  Recipient of the Vincent du Vignead Award given by the American Peptide Society
• 1999
  Elected Member to the National Academy of Sciences
• 2003
  Recipient of the Hans Neurath Award given by the Protein Society
• 2006
  Perlman Lecture Award of the ACS biotechnology Division

Selected Publications

1. Wang N, Majmudar CY, Pomerantz WC, Gagnon JK, Sadowsky JD, Meagher JL, Johnson TK, Stuckey JA, Brooks CL, Wells JA, Mapp AK. Ordering a dynamic protein via a small-molecule stabilizer. J Am Chem Soc. 2013 Mar 6; 135(9):3363-6.
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2. Datta D, McClendon CL, Jacobson MP, Wells JA. Substrate and Inhibitor-induced Dimerization and Cooperativity in Caspase-1 but Not Caspase-3. J Biol Chem. 2013 Apr 5; 288(14):9971-81.
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3. Crawford ED, Seaman JE, Agard N, Hsu GW, Julien O, Mahrus S, Nguyen H, Shimbo K, Yoshihara HA, Zhuang M, Chalkley RJ, Wells JA. The DegraBase: A Database of Proteolysis in Healthy and Apoptotic Human Cells. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2013 Mar; 12(3):813-24.
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4. Zhuang M, Guan S, Wang H, Burlingame AL, Wells JA. Substrates of IAP Ubiquitin Ligases Identified with a Designed Orthogonal E3 Ligase, the NEDDylator. Mol Cell. 2013 Jan 24; 49(2):273-82.
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5. Zorn JA, Wolan DW, Agard NJ, Wells JA. Fibrils colocalize caspase-3 with procaspase-3 to foster maturation. J Biol Chem. 2012 Sep 28; 287(40):33781-95.
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6. Shimbo K, Hsu GW, Nguyen H, Mahrus S, Trinidad JC, Burlingame AL, Wells JA. Quantitative profiling of caspase-cleaved substrates reveals different drug-induced and cell-type patterns in apoptosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jul 31; 109(31):12432-7.
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7. Agard NJ, Mahrus S, Trinidad JC, Lynn A, Burlingame AL, Wells JA. Global kinetic analysis of proteolysis via quantitative targeted proteomics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Feb 7; 109(6):1913-8.
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8. Gao J, Wells JA. Identification of specific tethered inhibitors for caspase-5. Chem Biol Drug Des. 2012 Feb; 79(2):209-15.
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9. Zorn JA, Wille H, Wolan DW, Wells JA. Self-assembling small molecules form nanofibrils that bind procaspase-3 to promote activation. J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Dec 14; 133(49):19630-3.
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10. Tang Y, Wells JA, Arkin MR. Structural and enzymatic insights into caspase-2 protein substrate recognition and catalysis. J Biol Chem. 2011 Sep 30; 286(39):34147-54.
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11. Crawford ED, Wells JA. Caspase substrates and cellular remodeling. Annu Rev Biochem. 2011 Jun 7; 80:1055-87.
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12. Sadowsky JD, Burlingame MA, Wolan DW, McClendon CL, Jacobson MP, Wells JA. Turning a protein kinase on or off from a single allosteric site via disulfide trapping. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Apr 12; 108(15):6056-61.
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13. Gray DC, Mahrus S, Wells JA. Activation of specific apoptotic caspases with an engineered small-molecule-activated protease. Cell. 2010 Aug 20; 142(4):637-46.
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14. Barkan DT, Hostetter DR, Mahrus S, Pieper U, Wells JA, Craik CS, Sali A. Prediction of protease substrates using sequence and structure features. Bioinformatics. 2010 Jul 15; 26(14):1714-22.
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15. Agard NJ, Maltby D, Wells JA. Inflammatory stimuli regulate caspase substrate profiles. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2010 May; 9(5):880-93.
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16. Wildes D, Wells JA. Sampling the N-terminal proteome of human blood. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Mar 9; 107(10):4561-6.
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17. Pérez-Payá E, Orzáez M, Mondragón L, Wolan D, Wells JA, Messeguer A, Vicent MJ. Molecules that modulate Apaf-1 activity. Med Res Rev. 2011 Jul; 31(4):649-75.
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18. Brunger AT, Wells JA. Warren L. DeLano 21 June 1972-3 November 2009. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2009 Dec; 16(12):1202-3.
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19. Wolan DW, Zorn JA, Gray DC, Wells JA. Small-molecule activators of a proenzyme. Science. 2009 Nov 6; 326(5954):853-8.
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20. Agard NJ, Wells JA. Methods for the proteomic identification of protease substrates. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2009 Dec; 13(5-6):503-9.
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