Xufen Yu, PhD.
Associate Professor
Email: yuxufen@fudan.edu.cn
Address: 826 Zhangheng Rd, Pudong, Shanghai, China, 201203
XufenYu is a Young Principal Investigator at the School of Pharmacy, Fudan University. She received her Ph.D. from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011, and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Hawaii, Purdue University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She served as an Instructor at Mount Sinai from January 2021 until joining Fudan University in October 2022. She has been honored with both the National and Shanghai High-Level Overseas Talents Programs (Youth). Dr. Yu's research focuses on innovative drug discovery via target protein degradation. Her group integrates organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and proteomics to develop highly selective and potent PROTAC degraders against protein kinases prone to drug resistance and epigenetic targets. These tools are applied to uncover new regulatory mechanisms in cell signaling and tumorigenesis. She has published 57 SCI papers, including over 30 high-impact first/corresponding-author articles in Science Translational Medicine, Cancer Discovery, Nature Cell Biology, J. Am. Chem. Soc., and J. Med. Chem. She holds 2 granted U.S. patents and6 Chinese patent applications.
Target Protein Degradation; PROTACs, Molecular glues; Degrader-Antibody Conjugates (DACs)
Education
2006.09 – 2011.07, PhD, Organic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
2002.09 – 2006.07，B.S., Applied Chemistry, Anhui UniversityProfessional Experiences
2022.10 – Present: Young Principal Investigator, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University
2021.01 – 2022.08: Instructor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2017.01 – 2020.12: Postdoctoral Fellow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2013.07 – 2014.07: Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University
2011.08 – 2013.07: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Hawaii
Teaching Activities
New Strategies in Drug Discovery；Drug Literature Retrieval
Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory；Advanced Medicinal Chemistry
Grants & Projects
1. General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Grant No. 22307021 (2027.01–2030.12, Principal Investigator)
2. Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission Innovation Ecology Construction Plan Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Science and Technology Cooperation Project, 26430760500 (2026.08–2029.07, Principal Investigator)
3. National Key Research and Development Program of China – Frontier Biotechnology Key Special Project, Grant No. 2023YFC3404103 (2023.11–2028.11, Co-Investigator)
4. Young Scientists Program (Category C) of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) , Grant No. 22307021 (2024.01–2026.12, Principal Investigator)
5. National High-Level Overseas Talents Program (Youth), Grant No. 2022hwyq26 (2023.01–2026.12, Principal Investigator)
6. Fudan University Start-up Research Fund for Recruited Talents(2023.01–2027.12, Principal Investigator)
Awards & Honors
1. National High-Level Overseas Talents Program (Youth)
2. Shanghai High-Level Overseas Talents Program (Youth)
3. Shanghai Pudong New Area Mingzhu Elite Talent Program
Memberships
1. Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) – Senior Member
2. Shanghai Pharmaceutical Association – Member
3. American Chemical Society (ACS) – Member
4. American Association for Cancer Research(AACR)– Member
Invited Presentations
1. Xufen Yu;Harnessing Novel E3 Ligases for Selective Target Protein Degradation, 2026 Targeted Protein Degradation Forum, Shanghai, China, 2026, Aug. 25-26.
2. Xufen Yu; Intercepting Non-Enzymatic Oncogenic Signaling By Targeted Protein Degradation, 23rd Protein Metabolism and Disease Conference, Gangneung, Korea, 2026, June 28-30.
3. Xufen Yu; Tailoring Small-Molecule Degraders for Selective and Effective Cancer Therapy, 5th Molecules Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, Beijing, China, 2026, May 14-17.
4. Xufen Yu; Targeting Non-enzymatic Functions of the Oncogenic Proteins Using PROTAC Technology, 2025 AACR Annual Meeting, United States Chicago, 2025, Apr. 25-30.
Selected Publications
1. Su, H. #; Li, Y. #; Xie, T.; Huang, C.; Liu, J.; Wu, A.; Wang, J.; Xiang, J.; Liu, X.; Chen, W.*; Yu, X.*“Targeted Degradation of Prolyl Hydroxylase Domain Enzyme 1 (PHD1) as a Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Acetaminophen-Induced Acute Liver Injury” J. Med. Chem., 2026, 69(10), 12122-12143.
2. Lin, Y.; Liu, J.; Tian, X.; Wang, J.; Su, H.; Xiang, J.; Cao, T.; Wang, Y.; Xie, Q.*; Yu, X.*; “Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Novel BTK-targeting Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) with Enhanced Pharmacokinetic Properties” Eur J Med Chem, 2025, 289, 117420.
3. Yu, X.#,*; Wang, J.#; Gong, W.; Ma, A.; Shen, Y.; Zhang, C.; Liu, X.; Cai, L.; Liu, J.; Wang, G. G.*; Jin, J.* “Dissecting and Targeting Noncanonical Functions of EZH2 in Multiple Myeloma via an EZH2 Degrader” Oncogene, 2023, 42, 994-1009.
4. Yu, X.#; Li, D. #;Kottur, J. #; Kim, H. S.; Herring, L.; Yu, Y.; Xie, L.; Hu, X.; Chen, X.; Cai, L.; Liu, J.; Aggarwal, A. K.; Wang, G. G.*; Jin, J.* “Discovery of Potent and Selective WDR5 PROTACs as Potential Therapeutic for Pancreatic Cancer” J. Med. Chem., 2023, 66, 16168-16186.
5. Yu, X.#; Li, D. #;Kottur, J. #; Shen, Y.; Kim, H. S.; Park, K. S.; Tsai, Y.-H.; Gong, W.; Wang, J.; Suzuki, K.; Parker, J.; Herring, L.; Kaniskan, H. U.; Cai, L.; Jain, R.; Liu, J.; Aggarwal, A. K.; Wang, G. G.*; Jin, J.* “A selective WDR5 degrader inhibits acute myeloid leukemia in patient-derived mouse models” Sci. Transl. Med., 2021, 13, eabj1578.
6. Wang, J. #; Yu, X.#; Gong, W.; Liu, X.; Park, K. S.; Ma, A.; Tsai, Y.-H.; Shen, Y.; Onikubo, T.; Pi, W.-C.; Allison, D. F.; Liu, J.; Chen, W.-Y.; Cai, L.; Roeder, R. G.; Jin, J. *; Wang, G. G.* “EZH2 non-canonically binds cMyc and p300 through a cryptic transactivation domain to mediate gene activation and promote oncogenesis” Nat. Cell Biol., 2022, 24, 384-399.
7. Yu, X.#; Xu, J. #; Cahuzac, K. M.; Xie, L.; Shen, Y.; Liu, J. *; Parsons, R.*; Jin, J.* “Novel Allosteric Inhibitor-derived AKT Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) Enable Potent and Selective AKT Degradation in KRAS/BRAF Mutant Cells” J. Med. Chem., 2022, 65, 14237-14260.
8. Yu, X.#; Xu, J. #; Shen, Y.; Cahuzac, K. M.; Park, K. S.; Dale, B.; Liu, J. *; Parsons, R.*; Jin, J.* “Discovery of Potent, Selective and In Vivo Efficacious AKT Kinase Protein Degraders via Structure-activity Relationship Studies” J. Med. Chem., 2022, 65, 3644-3666.
9. Xu, J. #; Yu, X.#; Martin, T. C.; Bansal, A.; Cheung, K.; Lubin, A.; Stratikopoulos, E.; Cahuzac, K. M.; Wang, L.; Xie, L.; Zhou, R.; Shen, Y.; Wu, X.; Qiao, R.; Poulikakos, P.; Chen, X.; Liu, J.; Jin, J.*; Parsons, R.* “AKT degradation selectively inhibits the growth of PI3K/PTEN pathway mutant cancers with wild-type KRAS and BRAF by destabilizing Aurora kinase B” Cancer Discov., 2021, 11, 3064-3089.
10. Liu, J.#; Yu, X. #; Chen, H.; Kaniskan, H. U.; Xie, L.; Chen, X.; Jin, J.*; Wei, W.* “TF-DUBTACs Stabilize Tumor Suppressor Transcription Factors” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2022, 144, 12934-12941.
Patents
1. Xufen Yu, WeiChen, Jing Liu, Yi Yu. Compounds Targeting Degradation of PDK1, Preparation Method and Use Thereof.Application No.: 2026111228832, July 27, 2026.
2. Xufen Yu, Jing Liu, Huahua Su. Preparation Method and Use of a Class of Compounds Targeting Degradation of Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK).Application No.: 2026105118337, April 17, 2026.
3. Xufen Yu, Shitao Pan, Chenyuan Xuan. Small-Molecule Ligands of E3 Ligase TRIM25, Preparation Thereof, and Use Thereof in Targeted Protein Degradation Technology. Application No.: 2026103168929, March 16, 2026.
4. Xufen Yu, Yunpeng Zhao, Xiaodong Lyu. GSPT1 Protein Degrader Active Compounds Based on Acrylamide Scaffold and Use Thereof. Application No.: 2026102079294, February 12, 2026.
5. Xufen Yu, Wei Chen, Chaoqun Huang. Conjugate Compounds Based on Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Ligands, Preparation Method and Use Thereof. Application No.: 2026101593990, February 4, 2026.
6. Xufen Yu, Ke Yu, Yunpeng Zhao, XiaodongLyu, Jin Wang. A Degrader-Antibody Drug Conjugate Targeting GSPT1 Protein, Preparation Method and Use Thereof. Application No.: 2025119998075, December 29, 2025.
7. Jian Jin, Gang Wang, Jing Liu,Xufen Yu, Dongxu Li. WD40 REPEAT DOMAIN PROTEIN 5 (WDR5) DEGRADATION/DISRUPTION COMPOUNDS AND METHODS OF USE, 2024-10-08, US012110295B2.
8. Jian Jin, Jing Liu, Ramon E Parsons, Jia Xu,Xufen Yu. SERINETHREONINEKINASE(AKT) DEGRADATION /DISRUPTION COMPOUNDS AND METHODS OF USE, 2022-10-18, US011472799B2.
